Mirror, Mirror
by IntotheMoon44
Summary: The tale of someone no one expected, the magic mirror herself. For a thousand years she was trapped in her glass, but now she is free, and facing a strange, exciting world, where evil queens seek revenge, men spin straw into gold, a strange lady wears a coat of many colors, and beyond the seven hills is the fairest of them all.
1. Chapter 1

**An idea that stuck in my head, and eventually I just decided to write it down.**

Once upon a time…that is how stories are usually started. I always wondered why people couldn't state when something happened. Why did the date of their events need to be so obscure? And why must the setting of the tale be 'far far away'? That would be an awfully silly thing to say if the setting was that of someone's own town.

Humans are so interesting and odd, and loveable.

For the longest time I thought of them like one might a bunch of dogs or cats, some being especially friendly and others waiting for the opportune moment to bite.

For that I'll have to be forgiven. They are not at all like dogs or cats.

But I must go on with my story now, and 'once upon a time' is the most accurate way of beginning it, for the years have passed endlessly and I cannot recall the day I was born.

Or rather…made.

/

 _The day I am created_

 _/_

There were two men who were responsible for conjuring me into existence.

One was Barathe.

Barathe was one of the greatest alchemists of those days. Many paid high prices for him to use his transformational powers to their advantage. Conniving merchants had lead nuggets turned to gold by his spells. Fishermen had nets spun of horsehair by him that were known to catch entire schools of fish and the odd wish-granting turtle. Women famed him for his potions that kept them young and beautiful.

If you wanted someone ordinary turned extraordinary, you needed Barathe.

He was old, his beard iron grey and his eyes so poor and clouded with cataracts it was miracle he could see (probably the work of his alchemy was the source of his eyesight through such pitiful eyes). He was gruff, but he was wise, and powerful.

The other was a younger man, who was called Portly.

I never knew his real name, if he even had one.

He was what one might describe as a village idiot. He had a great jolly stomach and stood at an intimidating six and feet and nine inches, topped by a mop of sandy colored hair. His hands were the size of baker's bread paddles, and he had chubby, dimpled cheeks, over which his blue eyes sat, bearing a somewhat childlike expression.

The man looked like he could trample you in his own personal stampede, but he was as harmless as a baby elephant.

On the night of my creation they stood working over an ordinary mirror, that would soon be turned extraordinary. I was told once that it had a beautiful gold-platted frame, but I could not see it for quite some time. What mattered most to the creators was that it was a full length mirror, and that if a person stood at its edge, their entire reflection would show.

You see, I had to fit in there somehow. I was already doomed to be a petite individual by the size of the mirror. Any shorter and to make me comfortable (though I think my comfort was not very high on the list of priorities) I would have probably been made as a dwarf or spritely little elf.

I can recall the moment I appeared. Not all at once, but piece by piece.

The first thing to come forth of me was my mind. I didn't know it at the time but it would be a spectacular mind, full of knowledge. Knowledge beyond that of any man. At that moment, I had nothing to think of but the fact I existed.

It was a gentle existence, floating in a sort of hazy, peaceful limbo. A simple, resounding thought of: I am here. This is me.

Then I could hear them. Imagine sound coming into your life. Unlike a human newborn I could comprehend it, and make use of language.

Barathe was muttering, and saying chants in Latin. His other remarks were instructions for Portly. "Portly, the eye of newt….the maiden's hair, three strands…hurry, hurry!...now the brick dust…"

Portly remarks were routinely rattled off to the commands. "Yes, master" and "Hurry, hurry, hurry" when he was told to quicken his pace. His voice was childlike too, a bit higher, and that of someone of lower intelligence.

"No, you oaf!" Barathe suddenly shouted. "Put down that ladle! This is hardly soup!"

It was from this comment I deciphered I was underneath some water, being turned to potion.

The ingredients were listed. The fur of a white stag, the scales of a crocodile, the dust from a sheep's horn, and many, many plants. Every from black pansies to orchid roots to dandelion seeds.

Then my body started to become tangible. I could see nothing but I could feel. I could sense arms and legs and everything in between them. I felt my head down to the tips of my toes.

So odd, that I did not have a body for what must have been the first half hour of my 'life'.

And then, finally, as everything in that great water-bath boiled…sight.

I saw those arms, and those toes, and in the glass of the mirror I beheld a translucent image of myself, against the darkness of a world not yet open to me. I was pale, and had dark hair, braided up in a bun. My features were those typical of a young women, and my eyes were a deep blue. I touched my face, my hair, the first movements I performed.

Though my mirror lay flat, I still felt as though I stood upright. In fact, when Barathe laughed gleefully and said the spell was done, and gave the order to have me raised from the waters, I felt as though I was standing upright all the time, even as my mirror was inclined.

"Behold Portly…" Barathe said with excitement. "A magic mirror."

"Ooohhhh." Portly awed at the sight of my mirror. "It are very nice, Barathe." He complimented, his grammar, much like the rest of him, having that simpleton air.

"Ask it any question, and it will answer." Barathe went on. "The king and queen will never have such a gift bestowed on them by anyone else." He clapped his hands, and stepped forward. "And now, the moment of truth…" He cleared his throat. "Mirror! I command you to reveal yourself."

I waited for something to happen, even going so far as to tap upon the glass, but to no effect. "Hello?" I called out. "Oh." I beheld my sweet voice for the first time.

"It are invisible." Portly speculated.

"No, you idiot!" Barathe snapped. There was a great crash, as he must have thrown something and it crashed into clay jars on a table. "It's not invisible, it's not working!" He stormed. "Something must have went wrong...what have you done?!.."

"I do as you say, Master."

"I hardly believe that. What mistake have you done now…? Did you not add three strands of maiden's hair?"

"Yes, master."

"Then what have you done?! Everything else was so simply for you…there was feverfew, and willow bark, and magnolia petals and…wait…what is this?!"

"That are a button, master."

"Where did it come from?"

"Don't know." Portly shrugged. "Say…may I have the button, master? One's missin' from my shirt."

This was followed by much shouting from Barathe, and a fair bit of shamed whimpering from Portly. "Has I ruined it?" He said.

"No!" Barathe steamed. "No, no, no.." His voice grew calmer with each 'no'. "It is not ruined, it has only become more difficult. The button from the tunic of a fool makes things a bit more troublesome." He coughed, clearing his throat again. "Let us try this again."

He stood before me. "Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, reveal yourself to us all."

This time the dark glass in front of me shimmered, and dissolved, my half-image was replaced by what stood before my mirror, the workshop of alchemist. It was dominated by shelves of books, and jars of dried powders, and a few pewter pots and tiny fires over which they sat.

"It works!" Barathe was pleased again.

"Hello." I said, snickering at the sound of my voice.

"It speaks." Barathe was practically shedding tears of joy.

"She are lovely." Portly smiled.

"Rhyme is the key." Barathe continued. "Every question, every command, must be in rhyme, or it won't work."

"What a silly rule." I giggled.

"She'll a bit more vocal than I would have liked." Barathe sighed. "That button gives her the freedom to speak as she will. She'll have to answer every question but she'll be able to get chatty." He shook his head. "Let's hope the king and queen won't mind."

"Hello." Portly grinned at me.

"Hello." I waved at the village idiot. "Are you the one called Portly?"

"I are Portly." The fool beamed, sticking out his great chest proudly.

"Enough, enough." Barathe waved a hand between us. "Half the night is already gone. We must wrap the mirror up and bring it to the castle." He turned his back to me. "Face away, then it'll be gone, we can't have it talking all the way there."

"Bye bye." Portly waved to me, and turned away, and then the world that I had so briefly seen was gone, and I beheld the empty void that I would always see when I was not called forth.

"Good bye, Portly." I said. I admired my half-reflection in the glass as I heard them rummaging back and fort, wrapping my glass up in burlap. Someone (I assume it was Portly, given his size and strength) loaded me and my mirror into the back of a cart, and then we were moving to a strange, new clip-clop sound.

If Barathe had his way I would have remained covered the entire journey, but luckily Portly was either forgetful or not a very good listener. Or both.

He unwrapped the burlap from my glass, and called out softly, the way someone might try to get a lamb or puppy to come over to them "Mirror lady….Mirror ladyyyyy."

"Rhyme Portly, you must speak in rhyme." I tried to remind him, though he could not hear.

After another ten minutes of trying to coax my image into the glass unsuccessfully through his whispering, he at last had a spark of memory, and recited Barathe's previous words the way a child recites a lesson from school. "Mirror, Mirror, one the wall, show yourself to us all."

I came forward, most happy. Or rather, as close to happy as a mirror could get. I did not fully understand emotion, but felt an odd sense that I should feel happy.

"Well done, Portly." I smiled at him.

"Mirror Lady." He smiled gleefully.

"Say, it's darker where you are now." I noticed the shadowy world beyond his lantern-lit face.

"It are the nighttime." Portly explained.

I suddenly became aware of what the night was, as though my mind was opened to a thousand resources and wells of knowledge. I knew of stars and planets, I knew of nocturnal animals, I knew of the changing of time.

"The stars…" I muttered. "Portly? Could you tilt my mirror back? Are there stars out?"

Portly did so. "Goodness…" I breathed. It was most incredible. I looked upon each star and knew if it was a star on its own or part of a constellation. "Look at them." I stared at the great abyss for quite some time. Eventually something made of stone blocked the view of the sky, a gateway.

"Portly, where are you taking me?" I asked.

"To castle." Portly explained. "Mirror is present."

Right, for a king and queen.

"Do you think I'll like it here?" I asked. "How long will I be here?"

"Portly don't know." Portly looked at me with childish sympathy. "But Portly likes you."

"That's very sweet of you Portly." I smiled. "I think I should thank you for dropping a button in that potion. I don't think I'd like to just speak when I'm spoken too."

"That very nice." Portly appeared tickled pink by my thanks.

"What are you doing?" The words were spoken harshly by Barathe. "Have you unwrapped the mirror?!"

Portly was smacked upside the head, and the burlap was thrown over my glass surface, casting me back into the same dark void.

"Oh dear." I fretted, knowing somehow that Portly was doomed to have a great bump on his head. I waited, hearing bits and pieces of conversation, mostly Barathe speaking with a gate keeper of where to bring a gift for the new king and queen, and wanting to present himself. He also apologized for bringing Portly along.

I sat on my floor, small as it was for I was stuck in what looked like a cubby made of white marble, as everyone grunted and groaned as I was taken out of the cart and carried into the castle, my view blocked by no one calling me forward and the burlap.

But at last I was stood up again, and there was much nervous muttering from Barathe, and finally a round of fanfare as the morning fell upon us and the king and queen finally came forward. I stood, expecting to be called forth soon.

"Your majesties…" Barathe spoke to them, his voice shaking a little. "It is my great honor to bring you this gift, forged by myself in my workshop. Long has tale of my great alchemy been told, but now I bring you my masterpiece." He removed the burlap covering with a great swoosh. "I give you this mirror." He continued. "Made from a simple looking glass, transformed under the cover of the night by potions concocted of ingredients it took years to collect, and spells in languages long forgotten by most. No other man had the skill, nor the time, nor the ambition to do as I did with this looking glass, and change it into an object of enchantment." He paused briefly for effect. "A mirror with all the knowledge of the world. Come to it in times of need with your questions, and it shall always answer you truthfully."

"How is this done?" The king asked.

"You must approach the mirror, your majesties, and call the enchantress within forth. Then you may ask it whatever you desire." He added, quickly, "Your words must be in rhyme."

"Why must they? Would it not be simpler to ask outright?" The queen asked.

"That it would, your highness, but…" For a moment I feared he may blame Portly. "…the rhyme assures that those who come into your castle, seeking knowledge not meant to be theirs, are met with obstacle. What thief would think to ask in rhyme?"

"A wise bit of trickery." The king agreed, and Barathe let loose a sigh of relief.

"Allow me to present how to operate the mirror, your majesties." He stood before me. "Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, reveal yourself to us all."

The dark glass cleared, and I stood before them, and smiled. "Your majesties." I bowed lightly. I was thought my show of manners quite elegant.

"Incredible." The king observed me. "One would think her a real lady." He turned to Barathe. "May I test this mirror?"

"Yes, yes, of course." Barathe ushered him forward. "The rhyme, remember to rhyme."

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, reveal my name to us all." The king spoke, in a voice that projected around the room.

I had never seen him before this night, or any other people apart from Barathe and Portly and the Queen. But when the words were finished I knew who he was, as though I had known him and his bloodline all my life.

"You are King Rupin." I said, confidently. "First king of this land, for it is a new land now. Your father has divided his whole kingdom into five, one to be had by each son. You are the eldest, and so have been given the most prosperous."

"It is most remarkable." He said, with a small smile. "I shall accept your gift, and if it proves useful, you shall be rewarded."

"Thank you, your majesty." Barathe bowed.

"How does one dismiss the mirror?" King Rupin asked.

"You do not wish to know anything else?" I asked. "You don't want to test me further? What if the alchemist had already told me of who you were? What if your name and title are the only things I know?"

"You must turn yourselves around and face away from the surface of the mirror, your majesties, that is all that is required to quiet its musings." Barathe quickly interjected before the king's confidence in his gift could disappear. "Pay no attention to its ramblings. It will answer you when asked…it must, it has no choice."

"An unfortunate defect, but we'll make do." The king waved his hand, and everyone, save Portly, turned around to make an exit.

"Unfortunate defect?" I asked. "How?"

"Portly!" Barathe snapped his fingers and captured the gentle half-wit's attention.

"Bye bye." Portly waved, and then he turned and I was alone in my mirror again.

Only this time it was far quieter. My mirror had been placed in a room all it's own, so I could not hear much, only the passings of fanfare and footmen, advisors talking through the halls, and the maids running back and forth from the early hours of the morning till dusk. I was alone, and I had only my the tiny chamber on my side of the mirror. Any other person would have felt uncomfortable, but for me it was home. I found I was able to sleep, and for extended periods of time. Not in the way humans do, but enough to close my eyes and feel a great peace wash over me.

Later on, I would more correctly describe it as a sort of meditation. In this state I found my mind was able to drift to far off places, and I mused on knowledges. Creatures of the word, trade routes, patterns in the stars. I knew of these things without having studied them once, and without the aid of a question. For this, I assumed I had Portly's button to thank as well, it giving me power of my mind just as it had my voice.

I was left to myself for a week, and then on the seventh day…

The sound of angry feet, hurried fanfare, and quite a bit of yelling, the words muffled by the walls of the room. The door swung open with so much force it sounded like a canon had been fired. I immediately stood.

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, reveal yourself to us all!" King Rupin commanded.

The glass cleared, and I bowed, the tense anger in the room and the great deal of action after so much peace rendering me mute.

Beside the king was another nobleman, his garments muddied and torn, his hair disheveled. A pair of guards held him down on his knees.

"Has this man betrayed me?!" King Rupin bellowed.

"I cannot answer you if you do not ask in rhyme." I managed to say.

King Rupin was not pleased, and after a moment of thought he spit out the words "Mirror, I bring you a suspected spy, tell us where does his loyalty lie?"

The nobleman and I made eye contact, and I saw such fear staring back at me.

"He is a spy, sent by your brother, King James of the North." I answered. "He is only a peasant dressed in the clothes of a nobleman. He was paid well by your brother, and the orders given to him-"

"Take him away!" King Rupin ordered. "Execute him!" His anger was boiling over.

"Please, no!" The man protested, struggling against the guards.

"You can't!" I shouted from within my mirror. "You don't understand, he had no choice, he needed the gold-"

"Remove him now." King Rupin ignored me.

"Stop!" I ordered the guards myself, but they did not pay attention to me. "You don't understand! Leave him! He had no choice!"

They all turned their backs to me, and I was cast away, hearing the struggle of removing the poor man from the room.

That was the first time I felt sad. I did not cry, like a normal lady might have, but I knew that I would have felt grievously sad if my state of being allowed me too.

I felt numb more than anything, emotions being fleeting and feeble to me. I was doomed it seemed to never feel anything, be the feelings good or bad.

One thing I did know however, and that was that I did not want to stay and be some gift for King Rupin. I planned to argue with him when he next approached me. I sat boiling, as angry as a mirror could be, in my little chamber, until that evening when I at last heard someone coming inside.

There was no fanfare and so the king must have come alone. I stood, ready to vent out my mind to him.

"Mirror Lady?"

"Portly?" I could not believe it. How had he found me? Why was he here? I banged my fist on my side of the glass, even though it did little good to remind him he needed to rhyme.

He seemed to recall this after a moment himself, and he recited the words perfectly.

"Portly!" I was relieved to see him.

"Mirror." He smiled.

"What on earth are you doing in here?"

"King Rupin was very happy." Portly explained. "See? Gold!" He held out a small bag of gold coins, his share from the promised reward by the king. "Portly is now rich."

"Yes, you'll be able to live quite comfortably with that." I nodded. "Oh Portly…" I beseeched him.

"What's the matter?" Portly asked, concerned.

"I don't like it here at all." I shook my head. "The King just used me to see if someone betrayed him, and I had to tell him that he had, but he wouldn't let me explain, and now that poor man is going to be killed."

"That are sad." Portly nodded. "Rotten luck, too."

"I want to leave." I said. "Take me out of this castle."

"Mirror's too heavy to carry all the way home." Portly shook his head. "We would need a cart."

"Then please…please Portly go and find one."

"Is Mirror allowed to go?" Portly asked. He asked like a child did not wish to get into unnecessary trouble .

It was then that I discovered something, as the words slipped off my tongue.

I could lie.

So long as I was not asked a question in rhyme, I did not have to answer truthfully, if I chose to answer at all.

"Yes." I assured him. "Yes, Portly, I may go, so long as there is someone to carry me."

"Alright then." Portly grinned. "Portly will find a cart and then Mirror and me can go back to Master's."

"No!" I stopped his train of thought.

"No?" Portly repeated me.

"No, Portly… we don't have to go back to the alchemist." I said. If I returned to Barathe my journey away would be short lived. "You have gold now, that means you can go off on your own." I smiled. "You could buy land Portly. A nice little piece of land with a cottage on it."

"Really?" Portly beamed ear to ear.

"Yes." I replied. "Would you like that?"

"Very much." Portly said.

"And you could take me with you, so you would have a friend." I encouraged him. "But first…" I returned to more pressing matters. "We need a cart."

"Yes, yes…a cart, yes." Portly nodded.

"Now go off Portly, and try to be as quick as you can." I sent him off.

"Yes, Mirror." He nodded with a big grin. "Bye, bye." He turned and with that the room before me disappeared.

Mirror…I was becoming quite attached to the word. People always called me such when they called me forth and commanded my knowledge. Portly used it as a sort of name for me almost. The longer I waited for Portly's return, the more the idea of that stuck with me. Everyone needed a name, did they not? Even me.

Mirror.

Yes, it would do as a name. Quite apt, really.

I waited for Portly. I waited…and slept…and awoke…and waited…and slept…and waited more.

Portly never came.

One day I was commanded forth, this time by the queen, and was surprised to see she was expecting a child. She came forth, asking for the gender of the baby, and was pleased when I told her it was to be a son, and a healthy one too.

Months had passed since the time when Portly had visited me.

Perhaps he had forgotten me, or perhaps he was just not a very good listener.

Perhaps it was both.

 **I'm planning to combine three classic tales, one of which is Snow White, and the other two being Rumplestiltskin and Catskin (or The Coat of Many Colors, depending on what edition of the brothers Grimm you look at), and inserting Mirror's own story into the works.**


	2. Chapter 2

Do not feel badly for me, my story does not end there thankfully. I did not feel sad…well, of course, I did not feel sad I was a mirror, and as I've said before, emotions were something of a mystery to me still.

Needless to say…I was not to be very happy with my circumstances for the next few centuries.

I would not have a friend like Portly again for quite some time.

/

 _A thousand years later_

/

My owners after King Rupin were not a great improvement over him. I always fancied being a well of infinite knowledge, where curious kings would sit before my glass and ask to have the mysteries of the world solved by my power. I wanted the young princes and princesses to come before me with their own curious questions. I wanted to be used like the gift I was.

I suppose I always thought I had a higher purpose than what I actually received.

King Rupin used me for the rest of his days as jury so he could skip ahead to playing the role of judge and executioner. When he was not dragging men directly before me he was trying to decipher who was after his new throne next. I had to constantly remind him to speak in rhyme, and it made him irritable to no end.

He died, and I was passed on as an heirloom in the royal treasury, to the new king, the first born son who's birth I had proclaimed would produce an heir many years ago. The new king used me for much the same reason. By the time his son had come to the throne and become my owner, a full on war had broken out over the whole thing. Too many spies captured, to many plots discovered.

I had my part to play in it. I was always a short walk down the hall from their headquarters to determine helpful information, and set up the right battle plans. I was by far the best spy in all the kingdoms.

They were not very good at asking in rhyme either and they had little time to speak with me apart from their demands.

The war ended, with us as the victor, though I had to admit the other kingdoms put up a very good fight, and did not give up. Had Rupin's line not had me as their own weapon, they would have likely lost. The war lasted three generations , and the king in the second one knew nothing about decent battle schemes. When all the fighting finished, no one really knew what to do with me, and I had to wait what seemed like _forever_ to be called forth again. Evidently, I had been forgotten by a few of the princes that followed.

That happened every now and then, me being forgotten. At some points I was almost afraid they would throw my mirror out and the glass would all shatter and I would end. But the rumor of the magic mirror was kept alive by the servants (such gossips!) and some new king would always find me eventually, and awe at the long lost treasure in this chamber.

It was a little awkward to see someone new every now and then and have to ask "I'm sorry…excuse me, but who are you?"

I was used for many things.

Such things included (but were certainly not limited to): predicting the weather, condemning more criminals, telling the queens they were pregnant, telling them of the genders of those babies, and delivering a few unwanted messages that some of them would have nothing but daughters. I helped spoiled royal children by answering their work from their lessons for them. I told women if their husbands still thought them beautiful. I helped to win more than a few games of 'chance'. I helped make advantageous marriages to couples who had never laid eyes on each other. I helped the kingdom avoid bankruptcy not once, but three times over the centuries. I helped to win another war. And I was always used as a spy.

Did not anyone simple want to know of stars and seas and far off places?

Never mind the far off places I simply wanted to know about _life_. I wanted to know of feeling, and being human and being alive.

But I was not human, my destiny was not for me to decide. I had simpler ways of living.

Luckily, these days I was not without company. The queen visited daily, having made it part of her morning rituals. I came awake whenever I heard her ladies-in-waiting (she had a small army of them to attendant to her whims and follow her about) collecting all her bathing things, soaps and oils and dried flowers. A maid from the kitchen, commonly a large able-bodied women in her middle-aged years, would come grunting past the chamber as well, heaving great buckets of hot water for the bath. The noise of them was enough to stir me from my reveries.

I did not like this queen. I found her very vain, as her perpetual question was "Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?"

It was her, and there was no denying she was beautiful. But who would not be beautiful if they had baths in rose petals and eucalyptus oil and then dressed themselves in fine clothes every day? I liked being used for something every day (and thank all heaven, for it not being war), but I was irritated by her constant need to be more beautiful than anyone else, and know this to be true for every day.

Really, I had to blame much of my dislike of her from what I heard of her. The servants gossiped of her with much vigor, even her prized ladies-in-waiting. Rumor was she also had nightly baths in the milk from spotted goats to keep her looking young.

I had once asked a middle-aged maid, probably the one who had done quite a lot of the heavy lifting for those baths, what it was like to age, and why women disliked it so much. Her name was Prudence, and she snapped at me, demanding to know if I was insulting her for getting older. She also gave the threat that if the Queen didn't love standing before me as much as she did, she'd take her shoe and smash my glass all up.

I never dared ask again.

But that was only the beginning of the tales of her. There was also talk of her temper, and how she had spent large sums of money on her clothes and jewels, and how she had once ordered that a young, beautiful girl who worked in the palace have her hair cut so short it was nearly to her scalp.

That was what annoyed me most about her, that being beautiful on it's own was not enough. If she was not the most desired there almost seemed to be no point in living for her, and she would come to me sometimes in fits of woe, and was only comforted when I told her she was thought the most beautiful in the kingdom.

There was the sound of my chamber door opening and I stood, smoothing out the skirt of my dress.

Sometimes I liked to image I had the pretty dresses that the ladies-in-waiting wore always, in bright pastel colors with necklines that dipped elegantly to reveal a little décolleté, and lace collars. They got to wear curls in their hair and pin it up in matching combs, sometimes with jewels on them. In all truth, I had been wearing the same white gown, with its flowing elbow length sleeves since the beginning of my days.

"Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, reveal yourself to us all."

I appeared and saw Wilhelm in front of me.

"Good morning, your majesty." I bowed my head a little.

Wilhelm scowled at me, though not for being a mirror. He hated being referred to with his title. "On the hunt for the white stag again?" I asked pleasantly.

"A stag of any color will do." He nodded.

Wilhelm was the son of the queen, from her first marriage. He was very lucky to inherit the title of prince and if the old king not died he would have never had a chance for the throne. His mother had seen to changing that though…

I believed Wilhelm had never wanted the responsibilities that came with the title his mother fixed on his shoulders, though he carried them, begrudgingly. He was far better suited to the hunting and trapping his real father had taught him.

"Slipping out before your mother comes out of her chambers?" There was no reply from him, so I knew it was likely true. I sighed. "Well, I know why you've come." I straightened up. "Go on, in rhyme if you please."

"Mirror, Mirror, before the queen does suspect my stunt, tell me where it is best to hunt."

"The east meadow, but not in the ravine." I replied. "The deer will be migrating on towards the lake along the first foothills."

He nodded in thanks. Wilhelm did not talk with me much. I often tried to speak with servants and tried to get answers for my burning questions from them. A good many times they were too busy to answer me, and if they did the responses were not nearly detailed enough for me to be satisfied. Wilhelm did not like to answer any questions of mine, but neither did he snap at me. A neutral character in my eyes.

"Good hunting to you then." I wished him. He turned, but before he cast me back I spoke again. "You know…I think you'd make a far better huntsman than you would a prince."

Wilhelm looked back and gave a small smile. A cool person, who had never shown me much kindness, and who used me for such trival purposes…and yet I did not hate him. He had simple needs, and they were simply met. Perhaps it was just his lot in life to be a little begrudged or bitter. Was he cruel? No. Merely misunderstood…

It would be nicer in a few years when Wilhelm was my master and I was responsible for putting food on feast tables at least. People had to eat.

But people did not have to be so obsessed with beauty, I reminded myself as I sat waiting for the queen to approach. Wilhelm had stepped out and no doubt vanished into the wilderness. A the world outdoors…how long had it been since I last saw it? Wilhelm could not be bothered enough to tell me of the hills and valleys and groves. The servants were too occupied and often embittered to even look out of the window and tell me what the sky looked like that day.

I knew so much, yet some things were doomed to be a mystery.

Fanfare trumpeted from the halls, and I prepared myself. "Mirror, Mirror…" And thus I was called forth. The queen was striding toward me, her hair pulled back from her face, revealing the sharp angles of her cheekbones and jaw, her jewel bright eyes were locked upon my glass. Her dress billowed behind her, puffed out at the hips a little to give her a more ample, womanly figure, with her laces pulled tight to preserve an aging waist.

"My Queen." I greeted as a pair of ladies-in-waiting followed her like two little flowers being blown in the wind after her.

"Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of the all?" She asked, an eagerness in her tone not to be mistaken. She did not waste time on any small talk.

"You, your majesty." I replied. Her dress was a deep, jewel toned green, and made of rich fabric. No doubt her team of dress makers had slaved over the project for weeks, the fabric in her elaborate skirt with it's flares and ruffles was enough to make a second dress in itself.

She beamed, red painted lips parting in a wide smile, and laughing the way a schoolgirl who has been complimented does. "Oh, what an enchanting mirror!" She grinned. "Such a clever mirror."

I almost wanted to heave a great sigh, for cleverness and the opinion of beauty did not cross roads in my mind. All the same, I now had to go on, if only for the sake of her not having to return for another session of vanity later that evening. "The men of this kingdom admire your attributes and face…the women look at you with envy and awe…the children think you are an angel cast from the sky…" These things were not really truths, but she liked to hear them, and they kept her happy.

"Of course." She smiled, doing a girlish spin. "For no other beauty on this earth compares with mine. Is that right?"

I nodded, though she had not asked in rhyme. "Yes." I said, without any meaning.

"Truth, it is truth." She went on, touching her hair as if she were placing it just so. I didn't have the heart to tell her it might not be so…it would send her off into a fit of emotion, either sadness that would depress her for the rest of the day, or anger that would endanger me greatly.

She swooned about for another few minutes, and when satisfied with her looks left without a word. Her underskirts rustled as she left, bidding me goodbye, and the flowery ladies-in-waiting blew themselves out after her.

I wished my skirt rustled when I walked. I did not have much space to roam in my little chamber though.

I sat down on the floor, pulling a small cushion underneath me. My chamber was simple, dove gray hangings on the walls and a few embroidered cushions on the floor that I had heaped into a day bed of sorts. I took great relief in lounging on it, and resting when I was not in use. My important…well, what counted as important given who was my master right now…duties done for the day, I could sleep now.

If anything, some servant would come hiding in here and perhaps ask something of me. Perhaps Oswald…he was a jumpy, skittish little footman who was positively frightened by the Queen and he chose to hide here when her temper flared or when the other maids started snapping at his heels. He was always asking if people had stopped looking for him.

I fiddled with my dress, smoothing the skirt and toying with the sleeves, day-dreaming of a thousand things.

The door opened, and I sat up. Someone was crying. It wouldn't be the first time some tearful young thing had wondered in here for such purposes. I waited, hoping whoever it was would speak to me.

I waited, and waited.

Whoever had come was crying as if her heart was breaking. I had never cried before, but usually the tears of the young maids did not last long, and led to some spiteful grumbling. This girl sounded as though she was spilling years of bottled up tears that had aged and cured in her soul.

I felt pity for her, like she had wondered in like an injured kitten, and I wanted to take the creature in my arms and comfort it.

I could nothing though until she summoned me. Undeterred I sat by my glass, and listened to her. "Shhh." I hushed, though she could not hear me. "Hush, poor thing."

She cried for long time, until it all subsided, in a few broken hiccups. Had I been able to put my arms around her I would have.

"Mirror…Mirror…" Her voice was still shaky and full of pauses. "On the wall….reveal yourself…to us all."

The glass cleared and we saw each other, the two of us kneeling on the floor, and staring into the glass.

I had never seen such beauty.

Her hair was long and black as the night sky I had once seen. Her skin was pale and free of blemishes. Her lips were red like blood, but not from the cosmetics that the queen used.

She appeared equally as awed to see me. "So it is true." She said. "This mirror is enchanted."

"Yes." I nodded.

"You speak?"

"Of course."

"And is it true that you know everything?"

"Well, not everything…" I said. "But I can answer any question truthfully, so long as it is posed in rhyme." I raised my eyebrow a little. "How do you know of me? I have not seen you ever before."

"I don't work in the halls." She answered. "I work in the scullery."

Ahh…the kitchen maids had their hands so full with cutting vegetables, scrubbing floors and washing the laundry, it was no wonder that I rarely saw them.

"Why were you crying?"

"I don't really know anymore." She sighed. "The cook was being awful and temperamental again, and when I starting crying the tears would not stop."

"Why?"

"I've been working in the kitchen for years, and not once has it been easy." She sighed. "I suppose that's why."

"Why do you work there then?" I smiled. "You're very pretty…you could be a lady-in-waiting if you wanted to be."

"Oh no, she'd never let me do that." The lady shook her head, black hair floating about. "I have to work in the scullery because the work is hard, and endless…and that way I'll be dressed in plain things." She motioned to the skirt of her dress, which had been worn out, holes dotting the fabric.

"Who makes you work there?" I asked. "Your mother?"

"Stepmother."

"Well that is not very nice."

"She does not know kindness toward others."

"My master is like that too." I answered. "Though it isn't very good of me to say, if she heard of me speaking ill of her, she would smash my looking glass to shards…well, maybe. She needs someone to tell her she is beautiful every day, and I'm the only one who can give her the truth."

"Who do you serve?"

"The Queen." I said. "I am a royal heirloom."

"I know." She replied, with a tiny smile. "My father told me of you. He'd say I'd one day have you as my own."

"What?"

"The King…he was my father."

"I…I'm sorry I did not know." I apologized. "I only know what people tell me, and what I am asked. Who are you?"

She smiled. "Mirror, Mirror, you are not to blame…may you now speak my name?"

With that phrase I knew her, as though her entire story had been told to me, from it's start to it's finish where she sat now.

"Snow White." I answered. "You are the daughter of the king, and his first queen. You were the child they were gifted with after years of barrenness. The legend is that the queen pricked her finger with a sewing needle and three-"

"Drops of blood fell upon the snow on the black windowsill, and she wished for a child with hair as black as ebony and skin as white as snow and lips red as blood." Snow White finished.

"And here you are." I said. Then I frowned. "But fortune has not been with you since…"

"Since father died."

"The queen is very jealous of you." I said.

"Yes."

We were silent for a moment, and simply stared at each other. There was something that drew us together, two servants of the same master. And if fate had been kinder we would have been servant and master ourselves.

"Do you stay in here often?" Snow White asked.

"I have not been moved from this room for a thousand years." I answered. "People don't come in here usually in the afternoon…servants sometimes, but that is all…you could hide in here when the cook becomes unbearable…if you like."

She smiled. "I'd like that."

We had touched each other, like kindred spirits. A simple meeting and our friendship was started. We were both trapped in here, in our own ways, and for once saw someone who was like us. It was the beginning of the answers to all my questions, it was the beginning of one of the only dear connections I had.

"What should I call you?" Snow White asked.

I was beaming. "Mirror, you may call me Mirror."


	3. Chapter 3

It sounds like something so insignificant…a chance encounter that lasted probably no longer than ten minutes in all. And we likely only spoke for three of them. But you must understand my world was small, and my side of the glass so empty. Snow White was something new and brilliant to me, and kind…she was the very kindest person I had met until then.

Her friendship was quite valued by me, and I am proud to say that my mutual friendship to her was also quite valued by the fair lady. Gone were days in which I had to tell a jealous and vain queen of her beauty and then have no use for the rest of the day. I had to only wait for a few short hours until Snow White could slip away from whatever her tasks were and then she would sit before my glass, and I would sit close on the other end, and we could speak to one another for as long as time allowed, and Snow White had to go hurrying back to the scullery and that overbearing cook.

I loved it so much, and there were many times I thought I was feeling true happiness. Snow White did not come to me with meaningless questions…and more importantly she often brought answers with her for me.

/

"Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, reveal yourself to us all."

I did not need further encouragement, and had already seated myself comfortably down on my little pile of cushions when I heard her coming in. "Snow White." I smiled.

"Mirror." She knelt before the glass.

"Oh my! What happened to your hands?" I asked, looking down at her bandaged fingers.

"Oh, these?" Snow White plucked idly at the little cloth bandages. "Nothing too great. Blisters, from scrubbing the courtyard stones."

I tsked lightly, like a mother to her child. "You work too hard, it's as simple as that." I said.

"I'm glad at least one person thinks so." She replied. "It's the nicest thing to come in here, even if it is only for a short while. You're the only one who doesn't ask chores out of me."

I fidgeted on my cushion, to which she laughed. "What is it?"

"I was hoping if you might answer a few questions of mine." I asked.

She beamed. "Of course. Shall we take our turns, as usual?"

"Oh yes." I beamed. "But please, you go first, and remember…"

"Rhyme, yes, I know." She said, and then paused in thought. "Mirror, Mirror, please tell me, what lies at the other end of the sea?"

"Far off places…" I sighed, dreamily. "I knew there was a reason why we got along so well." I coughed, on a preparatory note. "Beyond the sea we used to think there were a hundred islands…"

"Is there?"

"Close, there's really only sixty-two, some of which are very tiny and nothing more than rock that seals like to sun bath on, but still…any how, there is one island which is now apparently the home of witches and amazons and a number of strange creatures. Few people go there, and it's mostly merchants who go to find spells and other precious things, some gold and silver and sometimes horses that the amazons raise."

"What is an amazon?"

"That was not asked in rhyme." I mock-scolded her. "Furthermore, it is my turn to ask a question."

"Very well, what would you like to know, Mirror?"

"Could you explain what 'sweet' tastes like?" I asked.

Snow White was briefly puzzled by the odd nature of my question and then sighed. "You always ask the questions that are hardest to form an answer too." She told me. "But I'll try…let's see… if something tastes sweet than it tastes like…well, it is a pleasant taste to be sure, though not when it's overwhelmingly so."

"And?"

"And…well, it's best when it's light and decadent." She sighed. "I'm sorry, there really are no words to describe it."

"That is alright." I assured her. "It's best I have a few descriptions rather than none at all."

"You may ask another question if you like, seeing as how I was unable to answer the first one very well."

"Would you be able to describe what the sun feels like?"

"You've asked that before." She grinned at me. "Many time before, in fact."

"Oh, I don't care." I smiled and shrugged. "I love the way you put all the words together, I swear I could be standing in some meadow and feeling the rays of it myself."

Snow White looked smiled and laughed a little. "It feels warm, and soothing, and it envelopes you all over, and you feel at peace when it hits you, and all you want to do is curl up wherever the sun beats down because it is so comfortable." She added, with a bit of a warning tone, "Of course, if you stay in it too long than it may burn you and that is quite painful."

I huffed and crossed my arms. "Your world is full of so many brilliant things, and yet if you have too much of anything, even the best things, it hurts you. The sun can burn you, the cold can freeze you, food can give you cramps, or taste bad if it's too sweet or bitter or spicy." I shook my head. "It almost sounds like a foolish little world."

"It can seem that way at times." Snow White agreed. "Now onto my next question…Mirror, Mirror, do go on, tell me what is an Amazon."

"You've picked up the knack of rhyming quite quickly." I complimented. "Right, an Amazon. That would be the people who live on the island across the sea. It's said to be a race composed of only women, and there all trained with javelins and arrows and their limbs are strong. They run wild in the island forests. Rumor has it they're quite lovely ladies, with olive skin and dark hair and eyes."

"Are they immortal?"

"I don't believe so."

"Then how have they not died out?"

"Could you tell me what it is like to have snowflakes fall on you?"

"Oh, yes, it's your turn, so sorry. I always ask too many questions." She thought some. "It's the lightest, most delicate little feeling, and oddly they do not feel cold by themselves. It's often the chilly wind that makes such weather cold. They're there one moment, light as feathers, and the next they've melted into a water droplet." She finished. "Mirror, Mirror, back to the Amazons now, if they do not live forever, then they must have children…how?" She fumbled this time for words. "Did that rhyme?"

"Well enough." I shrugged in response. "Sea spirits and forest sprites mostly to fulfill the role of the father. Any daughters born become Amazons and join their mothers, and any sons are born as spirits and are collected and cared for by their fathers."

"But don't they miss their children?" Snow White frowned. "Do the mother's not miss their sons?" And the father's their daughters?"

Ah yes, Snow White had a habit of asking more than one question, but I was too delighted with the conversations of knowledge and finally being used for purposes other than gain and vanity that I could not help but indulge her. "Oh no, they have ever so many celebrations of the celestial calendar, in which all those clans come together. Why, they celebrate every full moon."

Snow White was greatly pleased by this answer and our conversation went on for about another hour, talking of what water felt like on your skin, and the celestial calendar, and a thousand other sensations and sights we had both been denied. Eventually, we could both hear the old cook starting to storm through the halls, and Snow White had to slip away, or else the Queen would hear of her slacking in her kitchen duties and it would have ended quite badly for her.

"Goodbye, Mirror." She smiled.

"Will you come again tomorrow?"

"Yes, of course."

I smiled. She always said yes.

/

Of course, Snow White was not my only visitor during the day. I still had the routine visits from the Queen (who was still the fairest of them all), Wilhelm came regularly to ask about hunting locations, often when the palace was in a great rush. He positively hated the dramatic air that his mother could stir up whenever a slight problem arose.

I was surprised one day to find that he actually knew what to do during such times of crisis. On day the Queen was fretting on endlessly about the neighbouring kingdom and how the tensions between them were rising again. Of course, I should not fail to mention that it was her fault, at least in part, for such tensions. She was horrible with trade agreements, and her vanity had made her rather unfair in other aspects of life. Footmen and pages and counsel members were moving so much that day that it sounded like marching in the halls. Wilhelm slipped past them and asked his usual question, and then left to escape the castle. As he turned to leave though, he said, casually, "If my mother has any sense she'll come to see you about such things. Tell her she must play the civil part this time. No more hiding and worrying in her rooms. She must either invite the King here, or politely go to him , make herself on good terms and let the counsel settle the rest. I would not trust her to come up with a fairer agreement and smile through the process."

Then he vanished and spent the whole day hunting.

The Queen, as it happened, did not have as much sense as Wilhelm had hoped. She was not bothered over the situation quite enough to come seek my assistance. I had to relay the message by Oswald. The poor footman spent a decent hour hiding in my chamber, scared of so much worry and authority about the palace.

He called me forth, only to ask if anyone was looking for him. He appeared rather frightened, maybe more than usual, for I could see his slightly extended stomach shaking, as well as his entire form, from polished black boots, to his green livery, to his dark-haired and balding head. Even his mustache quivered.

"There, there." I tried to settle him. "It's alright, Oswald. No one is searching for you yet."

He breathed a great sigh of relief and slumped onto the floor to rest himself.

By now I had lost hope of the Queen returning, and had the bright idea to tell him of what Wilhelm had told me.

Oswald did not want to go willingly to the Queen, and had a fit over having to leave the safety of my chamber, but after much begging I convinced his to at least inform another footman of the news and have him deal with it. That was something he was much more comfortable with doing. Just before he left I asked, in a rush, if he would please get one of the scullery maids to come and polish my glass, for I thought it dirty.

It wasn't, but the message was delivered and Snow White came and we spoke of trade routes, and fine fabrics and exotic animals, being inspired by the day's troubles.

The next day the Queen came in even earlier than she normally did, and asked if she was fairest in a tone that bordered on demanding. I flinched a little at the intensity with what she spoke, but calmly answered that she remained the fairest. Then, instead her usual girlish twirls and such she spent dismissed me, but did not leave. I could hear her asking her ladies-in-waiting what they thought of her, and I assumed she was staring seriously into the mirror, and inspecting every inch of her face.

At last, she sighed, and I heard her make her exit. Having nothing else to do I lay on the cushions and contemplated lightly on why she had acted differently today. I was curious, but I did not trouble myself with it too badly.

Snow White came later, awaking me from my near-sleeping state.

"Oh, sorry." I apologized, as I sat up more directly, and came closer to the glass. "I was expecting you a bit later."

"She's throwing a party." Snow White burst out.

"Oh." I said, and then smiled. "Well, you must tell me what it looks like." I thought a bit. "You've attended such things before, right? Can you tell me of them?"

"Yes, I did." Snow White was distracted.

"And?..." I pressed on. "What were they like?"

"I want to go." Snow White admitted.

"Me too, but that's quite impossible, unless someone decides to carry me into the ballroom."

"No, I…I wish to attend." She repeated, and I understood.

"But your step-mother…"

"I know."

"She made you a servant for a reason. It's quite clear she does not like you. How on earth will you slip past her?"

"I'll find a way." Snow White replied. "She's bound to have her hands full with the court. I'll stay on the other side of the ballroom, I'll-"

"My goodness, you're actually planning to go!" I exclaimed. "Do you even realise how much trouble you could get yourself into?" I raised my concern. Snow White had been given punishments before. It was she who had been the pretty maid who had gotten her hair cut short like a boy's for looking into the Queen's vanity mirror (not me, but a smaller one I'd heard she had, attached to a little table where she kept her facial powders and her jewels). It had taken years for the poor girl to grow it all back.

I fretted, wringing my hands and my sleeves with worry. "This is a bad idea…a very bad idea indeed…" I warned her.

"Mirror, do you think you could tell me where my mother's old things are being kept?"

"What? Why?" I stared at her.

"Well, Father would have never thrown them away, and he wouldn't want to give them to Stepmother. She probably wouldn't have wanted them anyways. She's likely forgotten where they are."

"Why? What are you going to do?" The pieces sorted themselves out. "Oh no!" I replied to her. "No, no, no, no, no-"

"Oh Mirror, please! It will take hours for me to find them if I have to look all by myself, and I can't be held away long from my work."

"No, no, no, no-" I continued right through her pleas.

"I'll need something decent to wear!" Snow White protested.

"I am not going to help you get into trouble. What if someone suspects me?! You can take a beating with a shoe, but this glass cannot!"

"No one will ever know."

"No." I stressed the last word.

Snow White huffed. "I didn't want to do this…" She apologized, then cleared her throat.

I gasped. "Don't even think of-"

"Mirror, Mirror, on this wall, where can I find a dress for the ball?"

"Ohh!" I huffed right back at her. "That is unfair! You know it is unfair!"

"Well?"

"The old storeroom behind the pantries…the one where they keep the old furniture and suits of armour. It's an old black truck with green and white lacquer flowers."

"I'm so sorry." Snow White said, reaching out to touch the glass lightly. "If I could take you out of the mirror I would, and we'd both go find a dress and spend a whole night dancing around trouble as well as guests. You know I would."

I smiled the smallest bit, reaching out my fingertips for the glass, overlapping hers. "The violet one will suit you best." I said. "Trust me."

Luckily my friendship was one that could not be spoiled with jealousy, for I could not truly feel it. My friend had this chance to live as she always wanted, and rightfully deserved, yet I was to be denied again, imprisoned in my cage of glass.

The violet gown I had spoken of was what she choose, and she hid it from sight during the day, so that in the evening, when all had gone to sleep she could come sit by me and work on a few alterations that were needed for her mother's old dress to fit her correctly.

Rather than tearing us apart, it only seemed to bring us together, as trusted confidents. We whispered together in the dimness of the chamber and spoke only of what like the party would be like for her. Who she would see, and what she would do, and how many dances she would be asked to participate in. Feminine things like that.

And a few rather naughty comments on how wonderful it would be to prance around right under the nose of the Queen. We couldn't help it. The joy in disobeying our mutual master was something neither of us could ignore.

"I doubt she'll even recognize you." I giggled to myself. "Never…she only ever sees you as a servant girl in that old, worn out thing, and I suppose she's never even seen dresses your mother had. And then there's all the guests she's invited so…"

"I'll not be found out." Snow White said. "Let us just be grateful there will be so many guests to hide amongst."

I nodded. "You'll be just another face in the crowd, she'll never even know." Perhaps we dwelled so much on this subject to comfort ourselves, as deep down we did worry that she would be found out. "You will be careful though…?" I breeched the dreadful topic.

"I'll not be going anywhere near her." Snow White replied. "Believe me." She grinned up from her work. "Almost done."

"And just in time too." I said. "The party is only two days away, and you'll be lucky to have any time or decent sleep with all the preparations."

"I hope I get asked to dance at least half a dozen times." Snow White sighed. "Father used to dance with me, and some of the sons from men at court. But they'll likely not remember or even recognize me, and Father…" She finished a stich quietly. "Well, we know those days are past us."

"You will dance…for both of us." I pressed. "And dance well, there's not enough space in this mirror for me to twirl around and pretend I'm dancing the whole night. You'll have to be graceful for us both."

Snow White laughed softly. "Oh Mirror, I wish you could follow me…it would be so much better if there was someone there who knew me."

"Believe me if I could go with you I would." I said, knocking on the glass lightly. "This just happens to be in my way."

"Well, if ever a day comes when I make my way out of here, really leave, not just pretend to be a guest at a party…I'll be taking you with me."

"Really?" If I had a true heart it would have burst with joy at the thought. All the same, I was able to smile brightly at the idea.

"Yes, even if I had to hunt down a wagon to carry you in."

We both knew that such things were more of a fantasy than true plans. But we appreciated the friendship that drove them. "Thank you." I said, then added "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." Snow White confirmed. "You're the dearest thing in this castle, and I couldn't leave you."

"There!" The needle was laid down at last. "It is done!"

"Hold it up, let me see it." We rose to our feet, sleepy limbs a bit stiff, but rushing to stand.

She held the garment close to her body and spun around, a hand clutching elegantly to the skirt so that it swirled around. "Well? What do you think?" She asked. "Will I look nice enough?"

I grinned, admiring her and feeling her excitement.

"You'll be the fairest of them all." I promised.

/

 **Foreshadowing... haha :)**


	4. Chapter 4

That party…oh that dreadful party. It was the start of all our troubles. The real start of everything, the turning point in our story…well the first one and definitely one that turned it upside down.

Snow White had been so joyful and excited, and had looked like a raven haired, scarlet lipped angel sent from heaven to grace the ballroom floor. I had been excited for her, and was already hoping for at least a hundred tales of what a ball was like…a bit of a high hope, I understand, but I would have settled for fifty tales the next day with her.

But there was to be no next day. And there would be no hundred tales, nor fifty.

There would only be me, and my looking glass.

/

"You look beautiful, and it fits you like they took your own measurements." I repeated, for the fifth time.

"But are you sure?" Snow White stressed, looking over herself again.

"I was sure the last four times and I'm…well now that you mention it there is a crease in your hem behind you…"

"Where?! Where?!" And she spun around in circles like a dog trying to catch it's tail.

I snickered and she stopped, catching onto my joke. "Very funny, Mirror." She huffed, but smiled.

"You'll tell me everything, won't you?"

"Down to the most insignificant details." Snow White promised.

Music rose up in volume, seeming to seep out of the walls. "That would be the orchestra, stretching out their strings." She sighed. "I could return early…no one will be in here tonight what with the party going on…I wouldn't mind keeping you company."

"I wouldn't dream of robbing a moment of this evening from you." I replied. "One of us must live it, and you're going to live it to the fullest." I smiled. "Your feet must have blisters on them by the end of the night, or else you haven't danced enough."

She grinned, too happy to worry over anything. "I should go, half the guest out to be in there now, and I can't be the first, or the last or she'll take notice."

"Good plan." I nodded. "No off you go."

"Good night Mirror."

"Fly, fly off into the night." I watched her like I was watching my own dream.

"You are sure…"

"Just go already, Snow White!"

She left, and I was beside myself, in my glass, hearing nothing but bright, lilting music rise and fall. A mere taste of the true enjoyment happening down the corridors, but a lovely treat for me.

I swayed from side to side, eyes closed blissfully, enjoying the simple things about the moment. Lovely music, and no queen visiting tonight. There had certainly been worse nights.

I grabbed the edges of my white skirt, letting it flow around me with a few lazy turns, humming softly with the song of a few violins. I imagined what my friend was doing, eating fine food, and speaking with nobles from far and wide, and dancing with handsome (hopefully they were handsome, though with a face so lovely I'm sure Snow White would be asked to dance by every man).

Time passed as I sang to myself and swayed and pretended that I was with my friend, and that I knew about such joys of human life.

My trance was so deep that I had quite the shock when I turned around and saw that there were two people standing before my glass. "Oh!" I leapt back into the dove gray hangings and clutched at my heart.

I recognized one of them as Oswald, who was shaking like a scared dog. "This is it, the mirror I spoke of."

"She is impressive." A young man beside him nodded, and smiled at me. "I did not think something like a mirror would appear so frightened."

"It's alive…in it's own way." Oswald explained shortly. "You can ask it anything you need, just ask in rhyme, and do hurry, someone may be coming."

It was here that I started to doubt Oswald's loyalties. Perhaps this was why he had always been so shaky.

"Keep guard, will you?" The other man asked.

Oswald went pale as milk and began to stutter. "Well…well I…I, well…"

"Keep guard." The man gave the final word. "We'll be in no small amount of trouble if we're caught in here." And so Oswald went out and stood (shaking) on guard.

"Is he always so skittish? Oswald was much calmer before we sent him over here, years ago." I was unable of replying and stayed close to the hangings. "Are you always so skittish yourself?"

"Oswald is a spy?" I asked.

"Yes, though not a very good one." The man replied. He was young and fit and well dressed for the evening.

"He means to harm the queen?" I asked.

"No, and I believe he'd be too frightened to even consider it." The man went on. He cleared his throat. "If I may, there is something important I must know, and I've been told that only you are capable of giving an honest answer. Would you be able to tell me something if I asked?"

"I would." I answered. "Though I'm not quite sure if I should." I threw back my shoulders and set my face to a stern and serious expression. "Who are you?" I demanded. "And what do you need me for?"

"Rather suspicious for a mirror…" The man smiled, and I'm afraid to say it was so kind and genuine a smile that most of my sternness was lost. "Loyal to the Queen, are you?"

"No!" I blared. "I'm not fond of that vain and cruel woman, and I like her only as much as the next man does, which is no vast quantity, as I'm sure you've noticed. She's selfish and obsessive over beauty and just plain…well, mean!" I snapped.

"Dare we say, evil?" The man suggested.

"I suppose we could." I agreed. I cleared my throat again. "But just because I don't like her doesn't mean there aren't others in this kingdom I cannot let you take advantage of. Innocent people, and my few friends included." I looked at him seriously again. "Who are you?"

"Who are you?" He countered.

"It's quite obvious I think." I shrugged. "I'm a magic mirror."

"Yes, but how did you enter the mirror?"

"I don't know, I've always been in the mirror. Strictly speaking I've never entered or left it because this is where I've always been."

"You grew up in there?"

"Growing up isn't quite the right term." I tried to explain. "I've always been like this. I've never existed as a child."

"Incredible."

"To some, yes, the idea is unusual but grand." I crossed my arms. "Now I've told you plenty about me, I want to know who you are, and why you are here instead at this evening's party."

He smiled, friendly. "I have not come to smash your glass into a million pieces, have no worries."

This was a great relief to me, and I visibly relaxed.

"And your name?" I pressed.

"Prince Adalric, heir to the Northern kingdom."

I flustered briefly, and curtsied. "I meant no disrespect by pressing you so much."

My flustering must have appeared endearing, for he laughed good-naturedly and smiled more. "If I may, Keeper of the Mirror, there is still the business of my questions that need answering…"

"Oh, yes." I nodded. "Well…: I took in his charm (that is the problem with princes they are all so charming) once more. "Yes, I suppose I can answer whatever you came for. The Queen won't think to ask, and if she never asks, she'll never know."

"Thank you." He nodded.

"In rhyme." I added. "It's a silly detail, but the rhyme is vital…"

"Mirror, Mirror, our pact is made, so tell me if the Queen will be fair in our trade?"

I smiled at how easily he spoke in rhyme for me. "She will." I answered. "Or rather the counsel will, but she's left all that business to them, so you'll have nothing to worry about. Peace may soon be upon the realms, and all will prosper, with any luck."

"That is good."

"Well, I don't always give well received answers, but in this case I am glad that I was helpful." I said. "I don't often have new visitors, or ones that are half so pleasant as you."

Adalric and his handsome face stared back at me. "I'm glad a magic mirror thinks so highly of me." He paused for a second. "If I may, there is one more thing I wish to know…"

"If it is only one more thing, I don't see it doing any harm." I replied.

He cleared his throat. "Mirror, mirror, she fled under the cover of night, tell me if my friend is alright?"

A thousand images flew through my head. The forest at night, dark skies, tree limbs ripping at a dress and roots below threatening to trip someone. A large pack slung upon the maiden's back. I felt fear, and saw golden hair. A young women running as though she ran for her life, until at last she stopped, and seemed to take refuge in the shadows, nestling in the lower limbs of a tree I saw none of her face, but I felt something of her relief. I am safe now…and I hope that no one should ever find me…

"Yes, yes she is safe." I answered, and he looked relieved.

"Did you see her, can you tell me where she is?" He asked. "I'll ask again in rhyme if I must."

"No." I shook my head. "I…I…" I fought with what to say. "Did I tell him she was out in the forest now? Did I tell him that she did not wish to be found by anyone?

He had not asked in rhyme, so, somewhat bitterly, I lied. "I cannot tell you that. She is lost, and if she does not know where she is than neither do I."

He accepted my words. "But she is safe?"

"Yes, yes, quite well." I promised.

"Thank you.' He answered.

"If I may ask…who is she?" I asked. "I saw nothing much of her other than her golden hair…"

"She is from the Southern Kingdom." Prince Adalric was kind enough to answer. "I have known her since we were children, and we were promised to one another long ago."

"She has run away because she does not want to marry you?" I asked, quietly.

"No, no Elaine would have married me." He said. "Hopefully, not just out of obligation, but our relationship was nothing more than a bond between friends. No, she ran from her father. He has gone mad."

"What?"

"The king has lost all of his good sense, his mind is gone." The prince explained more for me. "He's been plagued by grief over the last decade, since he lost his wife. Only now has it truly manifested into something…something terrible…"

"Surely he would not wish to harm his own child?" I asked.

"We do not know." Adalrich shook his head. "He has fallen ill since she left, it's made him even more grieved. He rises from bed only to pace and speak more madness about locking her away in a tower where no one shall get her, or other vile ideas which are against the law of heaven and earth."

"Oh dear." I fretted.

My reaction, though only a worry, he took as genuine fear. "Do not burden yourself with that knowledge." He tried to calm me. "You are a mirror, safe from such things in the world. You'll always be safe in these walls."

"I wish I was not in these walls." I replied. "I've always seen these walls."

"Perhaps it is not so wonderful to be the servant of such a Queen." Adalric sighed. "But there is hope, she cannot live forever, and therefore cannot be your master forever."

I had no desire to tell him that the record of masters I had did not show me much promise for the future. Instead, I glanced up at him, smiled and replied "You are right. It will not last forever…it cannot…"

"There we go, Keeper of the mirror." Adalric grinned. "Hope for the better and it shall find it's way in time."

Charming, so very friendly and charming and one of the most pleasant people I had ever met. "Thank you." I nodded.

"I must say goodbye now before my absence is noted."

"Yes, of course, good bye." I wished him.

He nodded again. "Goodbye, beautiful lady in the mirror." He bowed to me with such respect, then turned and I was dismissed.

I blushed as he left. Beautiful…no one had ever called me that before. Beautiful lady of the mirror…

/

Snow White was kind enough to stop by after the party had died down, exiting in the crowd. She was still in a dream-like daze, as though music was still in her ears and her feet were still moving in a dance. "How was it?" I demanded as soon as she entered.

"Wonderful…wonderful and brilliant and absolutely perfect." She glowed. "I wish you had seen it. Crystal chandeliers were hung, and every dress was a different color, and it all just seemed like a beautiful dream."

"Did you dance with many men?"

"Oh yes." She nodded. "At first I was rather shy, I suppose I didn't want to be found out by anyone, but after I let one dance with me, they simply traded me between themselves. They were all lovely."

"Handsome?" I asked.

"Yes, many of them were handsome as well."

"Any favorite in particular?" I raised an eyebrow in question, catching her lamb's eyes.

"There was one in particular."

"How brilliant!" I grinned. "What was his name?"

She was too happy to even frown. "I don't know, I didn't even ask."

"Well did you tell him who you were?"

"Oh no, I couldn't give myself away."

"Never mind." I shook my head. "I suppose we can always figure it all out later." My well of knowledge would be able to fill in the blanks and put names to the faces, with little trouble. "You must be exhausted."

"Yes." She yawned then, realising it herself. "And I stand to get just four hours of sleep tonight too."

"Off you go." I shooed her gently away. "We'll talk of it all later."

"But don't you want to know about it all now?" She asked. "Don't you want to know what the Queen was like at the party? Or about the poor footman who was shaking so badly he spilt an entire bottle of wine?"

"Oswald…" I sighed. I would have to tell her of my own events last night. "Off with you, Snow White. Get what rest you can. Tomorrow we'll have the time for tales of dresses and dances and shaking footmen." I smiled. "And I'll have to tell you about the visitor I had during the night…"

"Someone came in here? Who?"

"A prince." I beamed.

She smiled. "I wasn't the only one who had something exciting happen to me tonight, I see."

I giggled, light and happy and feeling all was well with the world. "Enough, enough! You're moments of sleep are vanishing as we speak! Off with you to bed!"

Off she went, still in the violet dress, happy, beautiful, kind as ever. My friend, my darling friend…

There would be no meeting between us tomorrow.

/

It was probably only an hour after Snow White had left that I was interrupted from my peaceful meditation, by yet another visitor, this one quite familiar.

"Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, reveal yourself to us all!" The words were practically screeched.

The glass cleared and I beheld the queen, as I'd never seen her before. She was stripped of her fine clothes, clad in a dressing robe, which was falling from her shoulders and threatening to fall off altogether. Her hair was free of it's plaits and pins and the powders on her face worn throughout the night, fading.

"Your majesty…" I was taken aback. She was alone, her ladies-in-waiting likely gone off to bed. "Perhaps you had better…compose…yourself." I tried to speak to her.

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of th-?" It was as though I had been speaking to the deaf.

"I don't know why you must know this in the middle of the night, your grace."

"Who is she?!" The Queen demanded.

"Who are speaking about?"

"The lady in the violet dress!"

I froze. "Your majesty, I tried myself to avoid this conversation and where it was going. "You are tired. The evening has worn you thin. The woman in the violet dress is likely no one special. Some lord's wife, or sister."

"No one has seen her before, no one knows who she is." The Queen seethed. "Who is she?! Where has she come from?!"

"I don't know." I said, unable to stop my voice from shaking. "I did not attend the party."

I flinched as her face grew red with rage, fearing for the safety of my looking glass.

"Mirror, Mirror, on the wall…" She commanded, filled with anger that eclipsed all I had seen in her before.

"Please, please don't." I tried.

"Who is the fairest of them all?!"

I couldn't bear to speak, but the words were commanded of me, and came anyway. It was impossible to ignore the images of Snow White, in her beautiful violet dress floating around the ballroom with a smile on her face. To see how everyone had watched her and she hadn't even noticed over her own happiness. "Tonight…" I said, so softly, "…there is one who has grown more beautiful than you. Her face long hidden, it has now been found by the kingdom, and is thought more lovely than yours." I lowered my head in shame. "Lips red as blood, and hair black as night, with skin so pale, she is called Snow White."

"Snow White…" The Queen seemed to be almost in shock. "Snow White."

"It is nothing your majesty." I tired to protect my friend. "Memory of her will fade from tonight. Soon no one shall recall the lady in the violet dress…"

"Snow White…but how? How did she even manage to attend the ball?"

"It does not matter, she will never be seen by them again."

"Yes…" The Queen said. "Yes…she will not be seen again…by them or by anyone!"

"What?" I gasped. "What do you plan to do? Surely you won't…"

"She will be gone from my sight, from everyone's sight forever!" The Queen seethed. "She will not live to see another day after tomorrow!"

She turned and left before she could even hear me cry out. "No!" I yelled, falling upon my glass and slamming at it with my fists. "No, you can't! You can't!"

I beat against my mirror for what must have been hours until I grew exhausted and collapsed onto the floor, hardly conscious.

Memory of that man I had condemned before, a thousand years ago wafted through my head. I had just done the same again. I had all but killed my friend.

 **The 'mad king' bit is from Catskin/ coat of many colors. In the original tale, which like quite a lot of fairy tales is quite grim (haha, pun intended), the king is so grieved by the loss of his wife that he wants to marry a woman who looks just like her, but the only one who does is his daughter...yeah I decided to leave that Game of Thrones- esque far in the background.**

 **The Queen approaches Mirror in only a bathrobe because in the original tale she went in her birthday suit (again, dark origins)**

 **Adalric is a german name that I just searched up, because the fairy tales I'm using in this story are all German (or at least published as such). It means 'noble friend' and I found that it worked well, as a prince is definitely noble and someone who is charming would be considered a good friend.**


	5. Chapter 5

I felt so sad that night. And when my I felt as though that sadness, shortlived, was lifting I forced it back onto myself. Being a mirror, I was not meant to feel sad, and so if anything I suppose disappointed might be a better word to describe what I truly felt.

But I wanted myself to be sad. I wanted to cry for the first time in my thousand years of existence. I wanted to feel the most tearful of all emotions and never stop feeling it, because if I let myself stop focusing on pounding glass, and worrying over her, and feeling an emptiness in my chest that would mean her friendship had meant nothing to me.

It had meant the world to me. And I would not let it go.

/

Somewhere in the young hours of the morning I stopped pounding on the glass, my knuckles not bloody, but the skin dry and chaffed from such use. It was clear no one was going to hear me. No one would listen to me anyhow. My mind slipped away from me, and I thought of Snow White and the hours we had spent pressed to the glass, talking as friends would, learning about a world we would not see.

I had betrayed her, I thought bitterly. The one good friend I ever had and I had tossed her to the wolves. I had turned her in.

"I'm horrible…" I whispered to myself, laying in a heap upon my floor. I did not care for the softness of the cushions now. That was too grand of luxury when I was to feel sad. "I'm awful….I'm not meant to befriend anyone…"

Harsh things to say about myself, but it helped me focus on being sad, and when emotions are as ambiguous as they are for me, concentration is key.

I lay all huddled up on the floor for some time, tired and weary and wishing I could go to sleep, or cry, or truly feel things as they were meant to be felt.

Noise woke me from my daze, the brisk steps of boots on stone floors. It wasn't Snow White, she only wore shoes in the winter, for she had only one pair and could not wear them out with year- round use. It may be the Queen, and I did not want to see her ever again.

Someone entered, and I did not bother to rise from the floor. Let whoever it was see me like this.

"Mirror, Mirror, one the wall, reveal yourself to us all." The glass cleared and I looked up the tiniest bit to see Wilhelm standing before my mirror. I did not move any more than that. "You do not even rise in the mornings now?" He asked, lightly. "I did not think you _could_ sleep."

I blinked in response.

"And you didn't even attend last night's festivities." Wilhelm shook his head a little. "That would give someone permission to be tired."

My head shot up suddenly, at the mention of the party.

"It seems I have struck a nerve." He nodded at my sudden reaction.

"What do you know?" I asked.

"Do you want to know?"

"Tell me about Snow White!" I demanded, jumping to my feet now. "Where is she?! Is she safe?! What is she doing?!"

"In her own room, yes, and presumably getting dressed." Wilhelm answered.

"Send her to me, I have something to tell her." I asked, a pleading tone in my voice.

"I'm afraid I've been told not to."

"You do know…" I said. "Please, please, you have to take her to me."

"Mirror, Mirror-"

"No questions!" I cried out. "Please, no questions!"

"Very well." He answered. "I suppose I'm capable of finding a secluded glen on my own."

"What? Why?" I asked, as my mind started to pull it all together. "No, you couldn't be Wilhelm…you wouldn't hurt her…"

"My mother has plans." He responded. "Orders, really."

"You do not have to listen to her." I pleaded. "She cannot make you do something like that."

He shook his head, grimly. "She can, Mirror. She has a good many threats up her sleeve."

"You're stronger than her." I protested. "Please, Wilhelm, Snow White has never done you any harm, she has never done anyone harm."

"And throw away my ability to rule?" Wilhelm asked.

"You never cared for ruling over anything." I tried to reason with him. "You never wanted to inherit this…I think you would have placed it in Snow White's lap after your mother died."

"It's not a question of do I want to, it's a question of me being able to, and having the power too." Wilhelm stopped me from continuing. "Who would you rather have in charge? Her or me?"

"Overthrow her, please Wilhelm, I'm begging, do not do this."

Wilhelm turned to leave with a heavy sigh. I shouted after him. "I hope your guilt chokes you in the night!" I was screaming, in a vain attempt to break through with him. "I hope when you dream at night all you see is the face of someone who had never done you any wrong and blood on your hands that can never be washed off from-!"

He was gone.

I entered a weary state again, full of my attempts at remorse and guilt and sorrow.

"Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, reveal yourself to us all."

It was the Queen, and something made me stand tall and face her, a look of pure disdain on my face. "What is it that you want now?" I asked, forcing my voice not to waver and gritting my teeth in the process.

"Mirror, Mirror on the wall…"

She's asking that dreadful question, I thought. This is it then. I have killed my only friend. She is dead by my power, my unlimited knowledge.

The queen held up a small casket, the kind that one places relics in. I grimaced. What piece of her lay in there? A torn bit of fabric from her dress? A ribbon from her hair? I dared not imagine it be any actual piece of her body, for that was too cruel.

"…who is the fairest of them all?" The Queen finished.

It was as if my mind left my body, and I saw my friend, curled up in a strange bed, under a rabbit's fur quilt. Her hair was unbound. Her brow was peaceful. She was resting, alive and well, and fairest of them all.

I was giddy.

Too giddy.

With a broad smile and much enthusiasms I all but shouted "Lips red as blood, and hair black as night, the fairest of us all is still Snow White!"

"What?" The Queen seemed to be in shock. "It is impossible!"

"No, no it is the truth."

"It can't be the truth…" The Queen went on. "I have her heart in this box!" And she opened the casket to reveal a pound of flesh that was definitely a heart, but not Snow White's.

"You spoke in rhyme." I smirked. "I have to answer, and I can only answer with the truth."

"Mirror, Mirror, …you may have another start…" The Queen began to piece together a rhyme, the effort of which was rendering her even more frustrated and confused by my news. "Who once had this heart?"

The image of a boar being tracked and hunted down by a figure that must have been Wilhelm filled my head. "A pig!" I grinned, squealing the answer in delight. I felt a happiness stronger than any in my life, so powerful I felt that for once I was experiencing emotion as humans did, and my joy was no different, no weaker, than anyone else's. "It's the heart of a boar! A boar!" I clasped my hands together gladly. "She's somewhere out in those woods still." I half-frowned, half-smiled. "Oh! That poor, poor brave girl."

"A boar…" The Queen's face fell. For a moment her form slouched, and her eys lingered over the useless heart in the casket. "A boar!" She snapped, standing straight up and expressing nothing but fury and revenge. "That fool!" She spoke of Wilhelm.

"He didn't do it." I smiled. "He was good enough not to…oh, I'll never second guess his character again. He's proved himself a thousand times over."

"Must I do everything myself?" The Queen asked herself. She threw the casket to the floor. "Out in the woods is she?" She pointed a finger accusingly at me. "I'll find her. I'll find her if I have to hire every man with a crossbow!"

My giddiness faded, swept from my body with a sudden force that rendered me hollow. "Please…is it really worth it…being the most beautiful?" My throat constricted and my words came out sounding almost like a sob. "She's so scared of you, she'll never return. No one will ever see her again. They'll think you most beautiful…is that not enough? Is it not enough for you?!"

The Queen left, not heeding my words, and instead wringing her hands and saying "No, no, no…I must be fairest…I must be…"

"But why?!" I shouted at my now blank glass in front of me, my half reflection showing my pain. "Why is it so important to you?!"

Thus began a new cycle of grief and being lost in my subconscious (if I even had one) and pounding on my glass, and recalling bitterly the happy moments I had spent speaking of the world with snow white. Someone came in to clear away the boar's heart and the casket. There was walking in the halls, servants going about as though nothing special was happening and it were any other day.

Eventually, all went quiet. It was night at last, and I remained alone with my memories and my thoughts.

I recalled smiles and laughter and learning the secrets of the world. Pressing hands up to the glass as though we could touch one another. How I had been treated as though I were human and not some figment or object. How I had been used the way I wanted to be, for higher knowledge, for discovery, as an escape of sorts.

Sadness, more potent than any I had ever felt, built inside me as I thought of how those pleasant days were gone. How my trusting friend was in danger. I fretted for her safety in the woods. What if she were hunted down by wolves? What if she had fallen and hurt herself, tripping over some tree root? What if…oh forbid it from ever happening…what if she had fallen into a stream, or a lake and been drowned? So much could have happened to her, and my mind was whirling with horrible possibilies.

"Oh Snow White…" I whimpered sadly. "This is all my fault." I sniffed, and felt moisture at my eyes for the first time ever. I was surprised by this, but my sadness was too deep to stop the single tear. "I wish I could help you…" I cried. "I wish…I wish I could do _something_."

The tear fell, and I could hear the faint splatter of it upon the floor.

I wiped at my eyes then, clearing away the trace of my tear on my cheek. When my eyes eyes were cleared I made the mistake of looking up.

I let out a shriek, in surprise and fear, and jumped back against my wall.

There was a man standing before my mirror. A little man no taller than two feet, with a white beard that was just as long as he was tall, and a pointed nose and ears. His eyes were the strangest color, like that of gold, and big and bulging as a frogs, beneath a very thick pair of snowy eyebrows. He was dressed in a strange blue robe, and wore a little red cap.

"Hello." He greeted, surprisingly casual. His voice was like the creaking of a door and the crackle of a fire.

"I don't understand…" I said. "I did not hear you…you never asked me to reveal myself." I shook my head. "Wha-…who are you?" I corrected myself, hardly escaping the use of the word 'what' instead of 'who'. It was hard to believe that a man so small and odd-looking was entirely human.

"I don't need to call you forth, we're both creatures of magic." The man replied. He grinned suddenly, revealing two little rows of perfectly white, and if I was not mistaken, also pointed teeth. "You are grieved." He spoke. "Why?"

"How do you know?"

"I happen to have a gift for appearing when those who are most sad need a little aid." He replied. "But I must say I never expected to see you, Mirror." His grin broadened. "It is not every day that a mirror cries, now is it?"

"I am not an ordinary mirror."

"A fact I know all too well." He nodded. "Your reputation proceeds you, mysterious as it is."

"What do you want?" I asked. "Have you come with a question?"

"No, I come with no question for myself but one for you." He went on. "Why do you weep?"

The whole story poured out of me like rain from the sky, unstoppable. During the emotional tale, two more tears slipped from the corners of my eyes, and the little man seemed to watch them fall down my cheeks with an odd sort of fascination.

"It is my fault…" I finished. "I could not help it, but I still feel it is my fault. I wish I could have warned her, or said something, or simply thought to say a more meaningful goodbye the last time I saw her."

"What if I told you I could give you all that, and more?" The little man said when my story was done.

I looked up, my face blank. "You're lying…" I replied. "You must be lying."

"I am doing no such thing." The little man replied, frowning at me for my disbelief. "Here I am, offering you your hopes and dreams, and you take me for a liar." He shook his head. "I am not lying, Mirror, I am quite capable of making those dreams come true."

"I could warn Snow White?" I asked.

"Warn her, bid her goodbye, tell her everything you wish to…" The man listed for me. "Send her off to another kingdom if you deem it necessary."

"How? Will I be able to send a message to her?" I asked. "Will you carry it to her for me, word for word?"

The little man shook his head. "I'm too busy for such things." He said. "I was thinking that you could go off and warn her yourself."

"You'd send my mirror there?" I asked.

Forgive me my naivety , but you really must remember, I had been stuck in my mirror for a thousand years with no way out, or even a suggestion as to a way out of the glass. I thought I was going to be there for all eternity and it seemed to always be true. To me, every other idea was naïve.

The little man was quite frustrated by my ignorance though. He sighed, aggravated. "No." He replied. "I'll be sending you." He answered. "You, yourself, with no glass or frame, just a person, no mirror attached."

"Me?" I gasped. "You could _free me_?" I asked him, standing up. "You could get me out of this?"

"I could." He nodded. "Imagine it, Mirror. Imagine what it would be like to finally be free. You could go wherever you'd wish to go. You and your friend could finally escape. You wouldn't have to answer any more questions for the Queen. You could leave this palace behind you, see the outside world for the first time in…how long has it been since you've seen anything apart from these chamber walls?"

"A thousand years."

"In a millennium." He went on. "You can finally explore the world, you can finally use those legs of yours to run to far off destinations, not stand before some Queen, day in and day out." He grinned, revealing sharp teeth again. "I could give you everything. I could give you freedom." He placed a hand upon my glass. "I could make you happy."

"You would do that?" I asked. "For me?"

"Why of course!" The little man grinned. "It's all part of my business, it's what I'm meant to do in this world. Granting wishes, performing miracles, all in a day's work for me." He smiled up at me. "What is your answer then, Mirror?"

I was beaming, my answer, miraculous and unexpected as it was, found, having landed right in my lap it seemed. My answer to everything. My key to being a real person, to experiencing life, to having my millions of questions about what the world felt like, finally in my grasp.

"Yes." I nodded, with enthusiasm. "Oh yes, please."

The little man chuckled with delight. "Excellent!" He stood before me as though to bring forth some immensely powerful spell, and then his shoulders drooped and he appeared almost sad.

"What is the matter?" I asked him.

"Oh, if only I could grant your wish as simply as this!" The little man exclaimed. "If only I could!" His shoulders drooped further. "But it is a sad truth that beings of magic like us are limited by rules and regulations."

"So, you cannot help me?" I asked, thinking of how my power was regulated by rhyme. "Because I am only a mirror?" I grew very sad again. "Oh." I said, upset.

"Oh come now, your wish can still come true." The little man rose. "I just need something from you."

"I can't give you anything." I said. "I'm on this side of the glass, I cannot reach you."

"You'll be able to give it to me once you're free of the glass." The little man said.

"Really?" I replied. "What is it that you want?"

He pondered. "It would have to be something of immense value to you. Nothing ordinary would do, or else the trade would be unfair. Freedom does have a very high price. " He looked over at me. "What is it that you value most, now?"

"My friendship with Snow White." I replied. "But I cannot give you that, it is an intangible thing."

"But I can take intangible things as well." He grinned. "Perhaps I could take memory that you two have shared."

"You would take her memory?" I asked, sounding unsure of the trade going on between us.

"Not all of it." The man shook his head. "Just those which have you in them."

I wept. "But then she won't recall who I am, and I'll never be able to warn her. I could try, but she'd wouldn't believe me."

"Ah, yes. You have your urgent matters to attend to." The man nodded. "Very well, I'll accept that." He went on. "I will free you, and give you ample time to see this friend, Snow White, and warn her of her approaching dangers. Enough time to say a proper goodbye. Let us say…three moons?"

Three months. Three lovely, golden months of freedom, and adventures with my friend. It was more than enough time to warn her and get away. And it sounded like a good enough amount of time to have our fun and say goodbye. But my heart still ached, for she would not remember those happy times when I had paid my debt for them.

He caught onto my doubt. "Of course, you can always befriend her afterwards." He said, offhandedly. "Nothing is stopping you from that. You'll just have to start from the very beginning again. That won't be too hard, now will it?"

I fidgeted.

"They often say 'the heart remembers what the mind forgets'. Who knows? She may even feel compelled to befriend you, simply because it feels as though you've known each other longer." He shrugged. "It happens all the time in this line of work."

I fidgeted once more.

"If you do nothing, the Queen will find her eventually, and you'll never see her again, for sure."

That did it, and my fate was sealed as I replied "It is a deal then. My freedom, and three months time, before I pay you with the memories I hold most dear."

"Very well." He said. "We have struck a deal then. "And if you should withhold your payment…" He said seriously. "You'll be shut back in this mirror, and I think you'll find that a rather unpleasant thing, after three months time outside it."

"I will pay you what you are owed." I promised. I smiled at him, grateful. "Thank you…?" I tried to draw his name out from him.

"My name is one I do not share." He waved his hand. "Let's get on with it, shall we?" He stood by my mirror and placed a hand on the frame.

"What spell will you use?" I asked.

"I don't need one, you just need a little push, that's all." And he tipped my mirror forward, and for the first time in my life I felt a great imbalance in my person, lost my footing and fell to the floor. I got up to give the little magic man a smart remark, but when I looked over my shoulder I beheld a simple looking glass, with no person inside it. I had fallen straight through my glass and into the world.

The little man was gone, no where to be seen.

And I was free.

 **The 'casket' that contains the boar's heart is not a casket like a funeral casket. In this time frame/ world it's more of a fancy box. Sort of like a reliquary that would hold some heirloom or religious artifact, like in 'Merchant of Venice' by Shakespeare.**


	6. Chapter 6

Finally, a happy ending for me. Though, it was only the beginning of everything, so it's better we call it a happy start. Even though it wasn't technically a start either.

It was a second chance. A granted wish.

It was a thousand year old dream come true.

/

I became aware of a good many sensations all at once. The chill of the stone floors, the stirring of air when I moved, the numbness that filled one leg from sitting on it for too long. There I was: human.

Incredibly and impossibly human.

I laughed, and laid my hands against the cool stone, finding now I had grown accustomed to it, and it felt rather pleasant in it's own way. Joy was filling me now, more potent than anything I had ever felt, for it was pure, true joy, the kind of happiness that only humankind can feel. The sheer join of what it is like to exist in the world. "Amazing." I whispered to myself. "Amazing…so amazing."

Then I became full of giddiness and began to jump around like a child. "Amazing." I repeated. Why had I never done this before?, I thought as I began swirling and hopping and occupying myself with constant motion. Surely there was just enough space in the looking glass to do this. Maybe not to this extent…I mused as my arms swung and I ran throughout the room.

This was freedom, this was what it felt like to not be confined any longer…

"Freedom." I grinned, as I continued my running. "At last." I bolted straight for the door without a single care in the world and pushed it open and continued my running down the halls. Joyous, spirited, guilt-free. I began to laugh, happiness being so overwhelming and new, and bolted down different halls and corridors. My dress was billowing behind me, and my long sleeves flowing like wings.

I was running and leaping and twirling around…well, like an idiot, really. I know that _now_. But imagine lying in a box for a thousand years and then finding you had the space to do anything you liked. It was a liberated feeling, and so such actions will have be excused.

Regardless, I had absolutely no idea where any of the halls and corridors led to, so I was running around in circles, ignorantly blissful, until I heard some of the servants coming through the halls, wondering who was causing all the noise in the middle of the night. This stopped my lovely rampage and I had to duck and hide behind a floor length tapestry, hoping the tips of my toes would go unnoticed by the sleepy-eyed servants who were coming down the hall. I managed to keep quiet as they passed, and stayed hidden for a good five minutes afterward.

By now I was beginning to realise the repercussions of all my running. My legs, unused to such activity, were tingling, and not in an entirely good way. I was also finding it a bit more laborious to breathe now, my chest heavy with excursion. Eventually I thought it safe enough to move on and began exploring the castle halls at a slower rate, in search of an exit. If I was to find Snow White I had to get out of here, and quickly before someone noticed me or my empty mirror.

I got lost a number of times, and became a little discouraged. "Oh, if only I had asked questions she could actually answer, like how to find my way out of here!"

After some more puzzled stumbling around, I finally found a small door, which I decided to go through, and realized it had been a servant's passage into the front courtyard. The main gate was closed at this hour, but there was a small building at the gate in which a man sat guard. There was sure to be a door on the opposite side as well. It was all a matter of sneaking past…

I stepped over to the little building in the side of the gate, using the tips of my toes to do so quietly. There was a low, rumbling sound in the air, like rocks being thrown down a grate, accompanied afterward by an unattractive snort.

Eventually I crept close enough to the doorway to realise that the guard was sleeping. How his snoring at such a volume didn't wake him was beyond my understanding. He was an elderly fellow, who was lounging back in one chair, with his feet propped up on one opposite him, almost as though he had tried to make a bed out of the two seats.

He didn't seem very intimidating so I ceased walking on tip-toe and began to actively search for the key to the second door. Whatever noise I made was surely quieter than his snoring, so I felt safe in exploring the drawers and cabinets of the little room for a suitable key.

The drawers were empty, much to my surprise. I glanced around the room, looking for a hook where one might hang a key on the wall perhaps, but found bare walls instead. A rather loud snort from the elderly guard made me glance back at him and I saw he wore a metal key on a string, round his neck. For a few seconds I tried to figure out how I may get it off him without disturbing him, but eventually I just quickly removed the key from his person, and hoped that the quick action hadn't awoken him. He snorted three short times in succession, but did little else.

I smiled down at him as he kept slumbering away, completely oblivious. Humans were so adorable. I quickly kissed the top of his head in a small show of thanks and unlocked the door, making sure to place the key gently back around his neck before making my exit. "Thank you." I whispered, and snickered a little to myself.

Then I ran, compelled to move as quickly as I could and put a large distance between my old home and I. This was what it was like to run…to feel the chill of the night…what the soft ground felt like beneath your shoes. Snow White had been right all along, there were just some things that you could not rightly describe with words.

Like the way darkness looks outside. My chamber had never been dark, always lit with a few braziers that lasted through the night. The darkness outside was softer I found. Candlelight on stone was so harsh in the darkness, but the light of the moon and the stars was far more natural and ethereal. When the road gave way to grassier meadows and the first trees I was delighted, and took off my shoes for the first time and walked on the grass, and touched the trees. For something that looked rather pointy, grass was awfully soft and pleasant to walk on. I made sure to touch every tree, noting that the ones with thicker bark were rougher than the ones with thin bark.

Yes, yes, I was acting like a baby when you bring it outside for the first time, but I really was outside for the first time, and I had wondered what such things were like for an entire millennium, so what else would I have done?

I glanced up and beheld the stars for the first time in a thousand years. "It's been a long time since I've seen you." I grinned up at the night sky. "Far too long." My mind drifted back to the slight shaking in the wagon, and the sound of horse's hooves on the ground, and Portly being so kind.

The memory of my first companion brought my attention back to my second. Snow White was lost somewhere, and didn't know the Queen was still searching for her. She needed me…and I could feel keenly now that time was slipping away. Three months was all I had.

With a sense of duty in my heart I put my shoes back on and found the road again, commencing the long journey ahead.

Now feels like a good time to mention that most people traveled by horse when going to the castle. The road was long, and I had no cloak to ward off the chill of the night, so I very quickly learned what it was like to be uncomfortably cold when you expose yourself for too long to the night air. I also learned what it is like to be tired, and to have sore legs after running around. And to feel very, very along and rather exposed to nature.

Fear was a new, and terrible, emotion for me. When one is a mirror, all one has to worry about is having their glass smashed up to shards, but when you happen to be a magic mirror, such things are usually avoided. Out here, hearing the call of night birds and the occasional scuffle of something else in the dark was nerve-wracking. I expected something to jump out at me. Sometimes a sound would be so unexpected that I'd freeze up (almost literally, when you stopped moving the cold took the opportunity to seep inside your bones) in the middle of the road for a good moment or two. Fear and everything else was so new to me, that I had not learned to refine them yet. What I should have been would be 'nervous' or 'cautious' but no, I was afraid, like a child.

It was a relief beyond words when I finally saw a light in front of me. It was but a pin prick in the distance, but it was light…and it was moving. I watched as it wondered back and forth for a moment, and then was gone. Relief gave way to fear again. I then felt a drop of rain for the first time and blinked in surprise. Another splattered on my nose. It was the strangest sensation. It came down slow at first and I was intrigued about this new phenomenon…and then buckets started to come down and I was no longer so fascinated.

Truthfully, I felt as though there was no worse combination than being cold _and_ wet for the two sensations just seemed to make each other worse.

I began wondering back and forth, pacing along the road, trying to find a big tree to hide under. I ran to a mediocre one, and tried to ignore how out in the open and cold I still was. "Oh no…" I sighed. "Snow White could have at least mentioned that rain wasn't as lovely as I thought it was…" I looked around more. "There has to be someplace better than this…"

My eyes fell upon something a short distance away, and at first I thought it only part of a hill, but as my eyes adjusted to the dark I was able to see it was a building. That had me running all over again, over the grass, soaking the hem of my dress and throwing myself against the door to furiously knock on it. "Hello!" I cried out. "Hello, could you please let me inside?!" I knocked with my fist again. There was no reply, and I stood on the tips of my toes to look through a window. The inside of the building was dark. Perhaps everyone inside was asleep?

I debated what I should do, keep knocking or see if there was some shed where I could hide from the downpour, when there was a loud clap of noise, and a strike of light across the sky. "Oh!" I gasped, quite drenched now. I shook the door, but found it locked. After a moment of more fretting, I gathered an empty crate from the side of the house, placed it against the side of the building, and climbed atop it to push open the window I had looked through. I then made my less than graceful entrance into the building, and found it empty.

I closed the window behind me softly and then climbed down from the table placed against the wall. The inside of this house was not like what I had pictured. Snow White had talked of kitchens and cozy hearths and nicely made beds. This home seemed rather…industrial. There were no beds or kitchen. There was only a single chair, and a few stools to serve as seating. But it was dry.

A cloak, large and heavy, was hanging on a hook by the door and I took it for the night, wrapping myself in it. There was no one living here, I realised. Perhaps it had been an unsuitable home for everyone.

There was no hearth (not that I knew how to start a fire anyway), but I found the cloak warm enough. I sat myself down in the lone chair as more thunder was heard overhead. "I suppose it could be worse." I muttered. "Hopefully Snow White is sleeping somewhere cozier tonight."

I sat there, trying to go into my usual trance when I was left alone, and found that my head kept falling back, and my eyelids were heavy, and the rest of my body slow. So this is what it felt like to be tired…quite relaxing really, I thought. I suspected I would dose off any moment.

Carefully the stools were lined so that I way lay myself, all wrapping up in the cloak, across them and the chair, the hood being folded into a tiny pillow of sorts for my head. "Not bad." I smiled, when I found it impossible to keep my eyes open any longer. The old guard had clearly had the right idea with his own makeshift bed. "A rather suitable place to sleep, I should think." I concluded, before falling to sleep for the first time.

/

"Hey!" The harshly spoken word woke me. Being forced to wake up was a bad feeling in itself I soon realised, as my brain struggled to keep up, and my body jolted in response. I wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep more. "What are you doing in here?"

"It was raining…" I yawned, bleary eyed and quite incoherent too, for the yawn distorted my voice. There was persistent knowing sensation in my stomach, which I tried to ignore.

"Well what would bring you out so far from home in the middle of the night?" I looked up from my little 'bed' and saw a girl with hair that was bright red, and neatly braided beneath a handkerchief which she had tied about her head.

"I couldn't find my way."

"Couldn't find your way?" She raised an eyebrow at me.

"I'm not from here." I tried to explain. I kept staring at her hair, for I had never seen anyone with hair so amazingly red. "Is your hair naturally that color?" I asked.

"My hair?!" She was surprised by the topic I brought up. "How did you get in?"

"The window." I answered honestly.

"The window?!"

"Well it was raining quite hard, and there was this flash of light and this loud noise, and it didn't seem like a good idea to remain outdoors." I tried to explain, suddenly feeling silly. Embarrassment at being caught doing something I perhaps shouldn't have. Embarrassment wasn't a very pleasant feeling either.

"You mean thunder and lightning?" The girl asked.

"Oh! Yes! Thunder and lightning, that is what they are called!" I remembered, having heard such terms from Snow White.

I received a very strange look from the girl. "Do…do you live here?" I asked. "I'm sorry, no one was in here so I made a bed and slept."

"No one lives here, it's the mill." The girl told me.

"Oh…I wondered why there was no hearth or kitchen…" I muttered aloud.

"Are you alright?" The girl seemed more concerned now than angry with me. She placed her hand over my head. "Do you have a fever or something?"

"No, I don't believe I'm ill." I answered. "But then again…I've never been ill before so I wouldn't know what it feels like to be sick." She seemed all the more confused by me.

"You don't feel warm…" She sighed. "Maybe I should bring you to the doctor all the same…a few days rest-"

"Oh no, I can't spent days resting." I answered. "You see, I'm looking for someone, and I only have so much time."

"Who?"

"A friend."

My stomach emitted the strangest of sounds then, a light but audible rumbling. "Perhaps I am ill…" I muttered, rubbing my stomach lightly.

"No, you're not ill, you're just hungry." The girl informed me.

"Hungry?" I replied. I suddenly realised how much maintenance a human body required. Nourishment and sleep and warmth. I had never worried about such things in my mirror before. I had no need to.

"Have you any food with you?" The girl asked.

"No." I shook my head.

"Well I suppse you could buy some…the shops will open in town soon. Did you enough money with you?"

"Money?" My tone implied I hadn't.

"Good lord, how did you come this far without food or coin?" She asked.

"I walked." I answered.

She sighed, more exasperated. "No food, no money, and no horse either." She mumbled to herself. She looked over me again. "And no coat."

She continued to look me over, and I gazed at her expectantly, as my new-found guide. "How did you get here?" She asked. "And don't go telling any lies! If you just wandered in aimlessly, full of spirits, I want to know."

Then the whole story came forward, interrupted twice by more obnoxious stomach rumbling. I told her of the Queen, and how I had been in the castle a thousand years, how I had befriended Snow White, how my friend had fallen into trouble (leaving out the bit where I was partly at fault and leaving most details to the imagination, lest some hunter ask her of my friend's whereabouts), and finally of the funny little man who gave me freedom from my mirror and three months' time to find my friend.

She stared at me for a long moment afterward. "Full of spirits…I might have known…" She mumbled. "What a tale of tales!"

"It is no lie." I shook my head. "I am a magic mirror."

"Tale of tales…" The girl repeated, under her breath. "What to do with you? If I had any sense I'd have shown you out and not even listened to that story of yours."

"It's not just a story." I pressed. "And please…I need help." I admitted. "I'm no good at being human…I'm not used to having to eat or rest. And I have no bearings out here, it will take me forever to find Snow White and…oh please you mustn't tell anyone anything about Snow White or I. You'll get us both killed." And then two large tears fell from my eyes, and the girl turned soft again.

She patted (somewhat awkwardly) my shoulder. "Oh…there, there…" She seemed to have no idea what to do with me, lost, helpless, sad.

Not to mention my story was the stuff of myth and fable.

It was obvious from my words though that I did need help. And though the girl seemed a bit reluctant, she finally said "Well, I suppose there's nothing else that can be done…come with me."

"Really?" I asked.

"We'll get sorted out who you really are…" She said. "Perhaps you hit your head along the way…"

She took hold of my wrist and brought me outside the mill and then I saw that just beyond, nestled among hills, was the town. I had been rather close, after all. I left the cloak back inside, and the girl seemed all the more curious of me, looking at my white dress. She shrugged, and continued to pull me along to the town. "C'mon, I'll see if I can get you cleaned up before my family comes home. They'll just kill me for bringing a strange lady into our house."

"That is so kind of you." I thanked her. "What are you called?" I asked, friendly and thankful.

"Rebecca."

"Oh, that's a pretty name." I smiled.

"My father thought so too." She answered. "He's the miller." She nodded back at the mill, growing smaller and smaller behind us. "And what about you? Do you remember your name?"

"Mirror." I smiled back.

Rebecca sighed, her eyes rolling slightly in her head. Perhaps she had expected me to have a different name. "Are you sure?" She gave me the chance to correct myself.

"Yes." I simply nodded.

"Oh well…" She sighed. "Let's see if we can find you some breakfast, Mirror."

 **Rebecca has red hair because in some of the earlier versions of Rumplestilskin she's not the miller's daughter who apparently can magically turn things to gold, but is actually thought to be a witch. Having red hair could get you convicted of witchcraft as well as having birthmarks, green eyes, being left-handed (which I think Rebecca will be), daydreaming too much, having milk spoil in your house, or looking too old or young for your age. The list goes on and on.**


	7. Chapter 7

What a time of rejoicing for me. There I was, alone and confused with the world, and in walked Rebecca, who quickly took me under her wing. Well, as soon as she realised that I was in need of help and there was certainly something different about me.

But I was grateful, whether she found me strange or not. With her help, I was closer to finding Snow White.

And closer to breakfast.

/

Rebecca had to keep me hidden from a lot of people, though I could not think why. New people must have been something of a rarity in town, and given how fast she pulled me along, we did not wish to draw attention to ourselves. Eventually, by way of hustling me down a few alleys and keeping me close to her, I was brought to the front door of a house, and pushed inside, before the door closed quickly.

I made to go right for the hearth, which stood at the front end of the long, but narrow house, but Rebecca grabbed my sleeve, and tentatively called out "Hello? Is anyone home? Mother? Father?"

There was no reply, save a popping sound from the fire in the hearth, which sent up an array of sparks. I found the dancing bits of fire rather pretty. "Good, no one is home." Rebecca sighed, sounding relieved. "You go and stand by the fire, and finish drying."

I did not need to be told again and stood before the lovely open flame, delightfully warm. The fire crackled again, and one spark landed on my arm, burning for a moment. I flinched back. Fire wasn't so wonderful after all.

"Life is so strange…" I mused aloud as Rebecca sought to finding odds and ends to feed me. "Water is pleasant, but being cold and wet is very unpleasant…and fire is so lovely and warm but when you touch it, it burns."

"Mother says moderation is the key to happiness." Rebecca answered.

"Moderation is the key to happiness…" I repeated. "What does that mean exactly?"

"It means that too much of something is no good." Rebecca answered. "Of course…" She added in a quieter voice. "We could do with a bit more than we currently have."

"Your mother is very intelligent then." I smiled.

Rebecca smiled. "You're a sweet thing, you know that?" She answered. "Confused, and a bit on the breezy side right now, but sweet." She patted a chair. "Take a seat and eat, will you?"

I nodded and sat before the meal laid before me. It wasn't much more than some toasted bread, and bits of fruit and treacle. I stared at it for a long moment. "Haven't you seen food before?" Rebecca laughed a little.

"Oh yes, here and there." I nodded. "The question worth asking is if I've ever eaten it before…"

"Try this." Rebecca took a spoonful of treacle from it's little iron pot and poured it over the toast. "Everybody likes sweet toast…we've all been eating it since we could chew."

"Sweet toast…" I mused. I picked up the piece of warm bread and took my first bite of food.

Snow White was right, you can't really explain how something sweet tastes. But it is amazing, and it bites at your tongue playfully, and it only serves to make you want to have another bite. Treacle was very sweet indeed.

"It's good, isn't it?" Rebecca smiled.

"It's the most brilliant thing!" I praised. "It's the best thing I've ever eaten…well it hasn't much competition yet, but I think nothing will compare."

Rebecca nodded. "You just finish eating. Where are you off to next?"

"The forest, she's hiding out there somewhere." I explained, through bites of breakfast. "Would you mind pointing me in the right direction before I leave?"

"Are you sure you ought to venture off on your own?" Rebecca asked. "Miss, you've only just recovered from whatever happened to you last night."

"Mirror, you can call me Mirror, you know." I piped up.

"Well, nearly recovered…" Rebecca corrected herself. "Are you sure you didn't hit your head or anything?"

I thought back. "Well I did fall once last night…" I thought of when the little man with all the pointed features had tipped me out of my mirror. "…but I don't recall hitting my head when I did."

"Maybe you'd better stay and rest for the day…" Rebecca said. "I could hide you in the loft. Our winter cloaks are up there, and some old quilts. You could make a little bed for yourself. So long as you're quiet no one would realise you were up there…if someone did come up you could sneak out the little window and down the ladder on the side of the house. "

I looked up at her. "Do you not want your family to know I'm here?"

"No, no…" She shook her head. "You're a lovely person and you need to eat, but one doesn't just bring home a lost, confused lady, who thinks she's a mirror, and then makes her part of the family."

"But I am a mirror. A magic mirror, from the castle."

Rebecca just shook her head a little and smiled, patting my shoulder. "Try the strawberries."

/

Of course I couldn't blame Rebecca for not thinking I was a mirror. My glass was gone now, and I was the only magic mirror in existence, so she would have never seen one before. Not to mention she had probably never been to the castle ever…and one did not often come across magic in general…

The important thing was, no matter if she believed me or not, I was not lying, and in time I'd maybe be able to show her the truth.

Regardless, she had given me the needed directions to a common path in the forest. I was quite adamant about searching instead of resting. Rebecca had been quite clear in her instructions as well, and her words were going through my head.

'I packed you a bit of lunch, seeing as you don't remember where you left your things.'

'Thank you, Rebecca.'

'Stay on the path, understand?'

'Yes.'

'Be polite to anyone you meet, but keep conversation to a minimum until you're a little clearer of mind.'

'Alright.'

'And if you see a horse out in the woods with no owner and a pack of things, it's probably yours.'

'I don't have a horse.'

Yes, Rebecca was most helpful.

The forest was quite tranquil. It wasn't one of those dark, frightening, and overgrown places of the world, but rather green and bright. It was quiet most of the time. Occasionally there would be the sound of a woodcutter hitting a tree with his axe, or the trill of some song bird. I followed the sound of the woodcutting until I came across a few lumbermen, clearing away stumps and felling timber. I had but one vision of Snow White to help me find her. All I knew was that she had been tucked up and asleep somewhere, rather cozy. Perhaps she had found the lodging of some woodcutter and his family? Perhaps they had been as kind to her as Rebecca had been to me?

"Excuse me?" I called to them, waving my arm in greeting. "Excuse me? I was wondering if you would be so kind as to answer a question."

They could not hear me over their work, but one of them did notice my waving hand, and paused, bringing the others to a stop. "I lost a friend a few days ago, she came running into this forest." I explained. "I think she may be living in someone's house."

"We've not taken in anyone." One man shook his head.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "She may be in hiding…she has hair black as tresses can be, and she is pale as…" I decided against the word 'snow'. It was best not to reveal or hint at my friend's name to the masses. Not with the queen saying she'd hunt her down with men and crossbows. "…as milk." I concluded.

"We haven't seen anyone like that." The same man replied. "Keep walking, there's more cottages. Maybe someone further up has seen your friend."

"Thank you." I nodded and I was off.

I could faintly make out the words they spoke as I continued down the path.

"Do you think she'll find that girl?"

"I hope so. It would be a terrible thing for a family to lose one of their own in these woods."

"I _wish_ I was keeping a lady with raven hair and pale skin at my house."

A soft bout of laughter, followed by "You'd wish for any lady at your house."

I huffed at their words. "If Snow White were here, she'd have the decency to blush and say you're only joking."

There were a few more cabins ahead, many made of logs. Some were big and contained whole families, others were tiny and were home to only men. There were woodcutters, hunters, fishermen, and miners. There were women who sat outside sewing or weaving baskets. There were children who were chasing each other.

Everyone was quite surprised to see someone new out in the woods.

I wasn't particularly dressed like them either. Everyone's clothes were sturdier than mine, and a combination of subdued blues, greens, and neutral colors. Indeed the brightest flashes of color came from the ribbons in the hair of little girls. No one else was wearing a crisp white dress and slippers. No one else had sweeping elbow sleeves.

One child pointed me out and asked if I was a bride.

I smirked. Children outside the castle were delightful, I could tell already.

At first I was hopeful. Snow White wasn't in the first place I looked, but how could I expect to be so lucky? And if she had been truly smart about it, which I knew she would try to be, she would have gone a lot deeper into the forest than that. It was still too close to the town. But the day wore on, and I was beginning to be a bit discouraged. No one had seen her, much less taken her in. I was beginning to think I simply imagined her sleeping in a nice little bed.

The lunch Rebecca had supplied was nibbled away, bite by bite, and my slippers were growing uncomfortable. I had never used them for walking, especially for walking _this much_.

When I reached an isolated little cabin, home to a hunter and his wife, both of whom were browned by the sun and wrinkled and chaffed by the wind, and learned that my friend had not be seen by them either, I made one last attempt to travel down the path.

Only to be stopped by the pair, who said there were no more cabins along the road.

"No more?" I asked. "But there must be more…"

"Sorry, but there isn't." The old man shrugged. "At least, none that you would like to find."

"So there is more."

"Not for miles." The woman said, in a cracked voice, that she cleared up with a harsh cough. "You'd need a horse if you wanted to go any farther." She coughed again. "And there will be nothing but gypsies, witches and trolls."

"Really?"

"Old wives tales…stories meant to scare children." The old scoffed. "Don't take her word for it. There's only folk who don't like company like decent people do. And maybe some gypsies…"

"Selling spells." The old woman nodded vigorously

"Selling pipe weed and tinware." The man corrected. "I've never known one to use a spell."

"But there is magic out there, yes? Witches and trolls, you said?"

"No."

"Yes."

Both answers came at the same time. I did not know who to believe. Was enchantment really to be found in this forest? I smirked to myself. Why, of course there might be! I was living proof that such stuff existed.

I was about to take the first step of many when I was stopped by the old couple again. "It will be dark soon, do you really think you should be looking about the forest at such an hour? The path ends at the next mile."

I stared off into the green distance for a while, before deciding I had no choice but to come back tomorrow, hopefully with a horse, and try to find my way then. It broke my heart. Another precious day gone without Snow White, and the coming of dusk only served to remind me that I had achieved little, and there would be one less day in which I could say goodbye before the little man came to collect his payment.

The walk home was less pleasant, the clearings and path now deserted as children were called in for supper. I glanced into the windows of cabins, vainly hoping to see Snow White seated inside, but only say people eating at their tables, and the warm orange glow of hearths and lamps inside.

My stomach grumbled again and I groaned. This was going to become a very bothersome part of being human. I had always thought food and eating to be a novelty, and here I burdened with it's necessity.

Faced once again with no food, money, or roof over my head I returned to the one place where I knew I may get help.

I returned to Rebecca's house.

The windows had a soft orange glow behind them too, and I saw her family moving about as I approached, a little cautious. I did not wish to interrupt. My stomach growled again, and I proceeded a little closer to the door. I remained hesitant about knocking however. Rebecca had not wanted to reveal that she had aided a complete stranger to her family. I owed her for her hospitality, surely I could keep that secret.

I watched as Rebecca neared the window…her eyes glanced up, widened, and then she quickly put down the dishes in her hands, excused herself, and ran to the door. The door opened and closed, with Rebecca stepping out in those brief seconds. "What are you doing here?" She whispered, lowly.

"I'm very sorry." I replied. "But I don't have much place else to go…I was hoping the offer for your attic was still open…if not, then perhaps I could spend another night in the mill? I was comfortable enough there." My stomach growled, making it's own demands. "A bit of supper wouldn't be a bad idea either." I finished.

"Are you crazy?!" Rebecca whispered again. "I can't just bring you in now!"

"Should I come back later?" I asked.

"Didn't you find your horse?"

"I told you, I don't have one."

Rebecca sighed, aggravated, and I felt badly for putting such demands on her. "Please." I begged. "I'll find a way to help you in return, I promise. But I have nothing. I've never needed anything. And I couldn't find my friend today…"

Rebecca looked like she wanted to slap herself for the decisions she made before, but her look softened again and she sighed. "Alright…something bad has obviously happened to you. Someone's confused you terribly, that's for sure." She heaved another sigh. "It won't be very fun to explain to Mother, but we pride our family on being decent, good people. Any decent, good person would make sure you have some supper and place to sleep."

"Thank you." I said, with very genuine gratitude.

"You're not a gypsy, right?"

"No, I'm a magic mirror."

Rebecca frowned a little. "Let's just say you're lost, and leave it at that."

The door was pushed open and Rebecca took my hand and led me inside, effectively capturing the attention of what I assumed to be a trio of her younger siblings.

"Who is she?" One, a boy, with brown hair and a multitude of freckles, asked another boy, smaller than him, but similar in appearance.

"I don't know." The child shrugged.

The oldest of the three, a girl, sporting more brown hair and freckles still, looked up at Rebecca. "What are you doing? Who is that?" In a tense whisper.

"Be quiet, Emelia." Rebecca said. "It's only a…friend."

"I've never seen her before." Young Emelia crossed her arms.

"A new friend."

"Am I?" I asked. Perhaps she had not used the term as a façade at all. Perhaps she did now consider me a friend.

"I suppose so." Rebecca whispered.

The answer wasn't as sure as I had hoped it would be. But then again, we had only met, and one rarely meets kindred spirits, such as I had in the case of Snow White. More than likely, Rebecca had meant there was a good chance we would be friends, given some time. Such a response was good enough for me.

As we neared the kitchen, Rebecca seemed to get more and more tense. Dare I say…nervous? Within the kitchen was a woman that was running back and forth, stoking a fire, stirring something in a pot, and chopping up vegetables, seemingly all at once. She sported the same hair color and freckles as her three youngest children, and had a shapely form.

"Mother?" Rebecca spoke up.

"Yes, love?" The woman turned around and saw me, and in her surprise, stopped working. "Who is that?" She pointed at me with a wooden spoon.

"This is a friend of mine." Rebecca avoided the use of my name. Perhaps it was too strange a name for ordinary people… "She's quite lost. I don't think she's from here. She needs help."

"What kind of help?" The woman crossed her arms, much like Emelia had.

"Supper, a place to sleep…very likely breakfast in the morning…"

"And…?"

"Well, she's very confused you see…she may have to stay a few days…"

"A few days?" The woman raised an eyebrow. "And how did your friend become so confused, huh?"

"It's a long story."

"Rebecca, be truthful with me." The woman punctuated her demand by chopping the leafy top off another carrot from her stack of vegetables. "Do you really know this young woman?"

"I know her well enough."

"How well would that happen to be?" Another chop from the vegetable knife.

"A day." Rebecca admitted, quietly.

"Oh, only a day." The woman replied, with a jokingly sweet voice. "Well, that's not a very long time now, is it?"

"Mother, she needs help."

"I would assume so, the poor girl is walking around in a wedding dress."

"Please, Mum, I think she hit her head along the way…she doesn't remember where she left her clothes, her horse, her money…"

"So you expect me to take in a vagabond, and feed her from my own kitchen?" The woman looked me up and down. "What would our neighbours think?"

"It would be the right thing to do." Rebecca pressed. "She's very sweet, Mother."

"You have to be careful what sort of characters you allow in your home, Rebecca. One could take in a traveler and the next morning the man and half your dishes could be gone."

"I don't need any dishes." I spoke up.

"But what about what Father said about doing what is right?" Rebecca quickly made another attempt.

This made the woman sigh. "I didn't make enough for a guest."

"We could manage."

There was the sound of the door opening and the three children running and greeting a man. "Go and join your brothers and sister. I'll speak with your father about this."

We departed, as the woman called out "Hans!"

I got a quick glimpse of Rebecca's father as he passed us, looking curiously at me. He had red hair like Rebecca did, and clear green eyes. "Caroline, who's the lady with Rebecca?" He asked.

The rest of the conversation was in hushed tones as the two had their private debate.

Rebecca's siblings continued to look at me, confused.

"It isn't polite to stare." Rebecca reminded them.

Rebecca's mother burst out the kitchen a moment later, a pot of stew in hand, and a bowl containing bread rolls in the other. She filled each other six bowls set at the table with stew, placed the bread in the middle of the table, retreated to the kitchen, and came out with another place setting, which she put at the corner of the table.

Hans emerged with a stool, which he placed at the corner.

"Sit down and eat." Was the short remark from Caroline, directed at everyone. No one dared argue with her, taking their places, mine in front of an empty bowl. Hans tore off a piece of his bread and gave it to me, keeping the other half for his own dinner.

"Welcome to our house, Miss." He said politely. "It's a pleasure to have some company."

"My apologies for not having made something grander than stew." Caroline said, dunking her spoon into her bowl. "Perhaps if I had just a few moments notice…"

"Oh, I don't require anything grand." I said. "I've never had a meal like this before." I added, honestly.

"Well, I won't let you eat just a roll in this house." Caroline said, reaching for my bowl and emptying part of her meal into it. She then passed it to her youngest child. "Fill it some, and pass it along." She grinned over me. "We'll make sure you have a good meal, won't we Hans?"

There was something in her tone that implied that she had lost the argument with her husband.

"Yes, a good meal." Caroline finished. "We'll feed you right from our own plates."

"You don't have to…"

"Don't worry, miss…be generous Emelia! More than just the broth…we're decent folk. Our spoons are clean."

Hans laughed. "You'll have to excuse her…" He whispered to me. "She's just upset she didn't have the time to roast a chicken." He leaned away from me again, and spoke up. "It's a fine meal, darling."

My bowl was returned to me, full of stew. I took a bite. "Oh!"

This startled everyone. "What?" Caroline asked.

"It's divine!" I took another bite. "Heavenly!"

Caroline flushed. "Yes, well I'm sure a hot meal is very welcome after a long day." She said modestly. "Though my cooking is a fine example, I've been told."

I proceeded to eat with them, and for those few minutes, no one asked anything of how I came to their door again, or what my story was. We simply just shared a meal.

I sighed. There was some hope for finding Snow White tomorrow, and in this moment, I was happy, and not alone.

"So, Miss, what would be your name?" Hans asked.

"Mirror." I answered.

Rebecca rubbed her temples, while her mother and siblings looked confused.

Hans absorbed this information, took another bite of his supper, and said "A unique name, to be sure."

/

 **Treacle is the syrup that you get when you refine sugar. So...molasses. It's a older/ British term for molasses. Mirror is basically having the equivalent of French toast.**


	8. Chapter 8

Rebecca's family found me to be…well let's be frank, a little crazy. I will always be grateful for how they took it all in stride that night, feeding me off their plates, seeing to it that I had blankets for my bed, and even the youngest of the family, Jonah, giving me a kitten to cuddle through the night.

I was adopted into the family, in a certain way, and they took it upon themselves to set me back on my feet.

As far as where my priorities were…we had different ideas…

/

I woke up the following morning, Shade curled up at my hip, a sweet little ball of solid black fur. There was a knock echoing up from the floor. "Wake up, Mirror, it's time for breakfast!"

"Coming!" I stretched, smiled and slipped out of bed. I tried to straighten my dress out, but after two days of travels, and two nights of sleep it was dirtied and wrinkled.

I was not able to do much else about it, and so scooped up Shade and descended from the attic, and into the warm, busy atmosphere of the kitchen.

"I hope you don't mind porridge." Caroline said.

"I'm sure it's lovely." I replied, already anxious to sample a new type of food.

"May I have Shade back, please?" Jonah asked for his kitten. I returned the soot colored fluff-ball to his master. "See, Michal?" Johan whispered to his older brother. "Shade likes her, so she's fine."

"I still think she's a little breezy." Michal replied.

"Shh!" Emilia hushed them.

Hans entered that moment with more firewood and soon we were all seated back at the table, filling out stomach with breakfast. Porridge proved to be a not as sweet, but still enjoyable, meal compared to sweet toast.

"Well," Hans said. "We'll see about getting you sorted out, seeing as it looks like you'll be staying with us for a while now."

"Thank you." I nodded.

"You can sleep in the attic, Caroline and I have agreed." Hans informed me. "We'll see about moving a trundle or a cot up there this afternoon." He began to count on his fingers. "We'll set up some work for you in town, I'll ask if anyone's seen a loose horse…"

"I don't have one." I repeated myself for the tenth time.

"A donkey then." Hans shrugged. "If there's something to be found out about you, I'll find it."

"Oh." I thought of news about me getting out, particularly out of the village, and to the Queen's ears. It was suddenly occurring to me now that the Queen would notice my absence, and had likely noticed it already. I suddenly stood up. "No, you mustn't say anything, or ask anything."

"Why?" Hans and Caroline asked.

"I…I'm afraid I…I think I was running away." I nodded, vigorously, for it was true. "Yes, I was running away, from someone, and I can't have them finding me."

"Oh." Caroline stood, only to sit me back down, gently, patting my shoulder. She was turning quite maternal. "You poor thing…" She gave her husband a look.

"I'll not breathe a word then." Hans said. "That leaves finding you some work and seeing about getting you some more suitable clothes." He glanced over my poor disheveled dress. "That has certainly seen better days by now."

"I've a bit of cloth stored away." Caroline said. "I can't promise they'll be very pretty, but they'll clothe you just the same."

I was fed, my measurements taken by Caroline, and soon Rebecca was leading me to her little bedroom. "You'll have to borrow one of my dresses until Mum can sew one for you." She said. "Go on and pick one, see if it fits." She then opened a dresser.

I stared at the neatly folded squares of fabric. "Well go on, try something." Rebecca urged me.

I had never worn anything besides my white dress for my entire existence. I didn't know where to start. Realising I was taking some time to choose, I selected the dress in the left corner of the drawer and dashed behind a curtain to change.

It was a blue dress, fairly simple but for a fine collar, and elbow sleeves, this time fitted to the arms, where at the corners were a pair of black buttons, and a tiny, delicately embroidered rosebud, a soft pink. The same rosebuds were stitched into the hem of the dress. I gently ran my finger over the patterns, smoothed the skirt a half a dozen times, and stepped out from behind the curtain to reveal it to Rebecca.

"Ah, lovely, it fits fine." Rebecca nodded.

"This is so beautiful, are you sure you want me to wear it?" I twirled, letting the skirt fill with air and float around. My face showed nothing but wonder.

"What do you mean beautiful? Sure it's nice, but it's no ballgown." Rebecca said.

"I think it's the loveliest thing." I complimented. "Oh…" I breathed seeing how lovely the skirt looked as I twirled around, giddy again. "Thank you, Rebecca!"

She sighed. "You sure like the simplest things don't you?"

I simply nodded, twirling more and entering the kitchen to do it again. Rebecca had some difficulty getting me to stop flitting about like a fairy and follow her out the door.

"If we could find work for you at the mill, we would." Rebecca said. "But you seem to be a bit…new to some things." She smiled. "But luckily, bookkeeping is fairly easy stuff." She glanced over me. "You know how to read and write, yes? Mathematics too?"

I had never attended a school lesson in my life, but had helped countless royal children with their sums and letters. I had picked up a few things. Testing out my knowledge I looked at a nearby sign: 'General supply; new glassware in stock'. "Yes." I answered. "I can do all that just fine."

"Good, I was hoping you hadn't forgotten your schooling." Rebecca sighed with relief.

"Where are we going?" I asked, as she led me down a path in the village. I eagerly eyed the shop windows, and fronts of houses closer to the center of the town.

"To the carpentry shop." Rebecca nodded. "My older brother, Elias, is apprentice there. If father says so, he'll give you work, and he always needs someone to check over the books. He can afford to pay someone to do it now." She sighed. "Your first few days are going to be a handful…Elias always leaves the bookkeeping to the end of the day, and half the time he tells himself he'll do it in the morning."

"Work?" I asked.

"Yes." Rebecca smiled. "Good thing we have some ties around this old village. The bookkeeping will keep you busy most hours. If you have any spare time, you can try braiding rugs, that's what lots of ladies do when they have the time. Baskets and rugs and sewing…anything to earn a little extra money."

"But I have a friend that I really must be looking for." I said. "I can't work."

"What do you mean?"

"I only have so much time to find her, and she may be in trouble herself. I don't have a clue where to go on looking, so I need every moment I can get."

"You won't get very far without a horse, or a donkey or something that can carry you on it's back."

"Perhaps I'll borrow one?" I suggested.

"Good luck, everyone here uses their horses for work, ploughing and traveling and pulling carts." Rebecca told me. "You won't get anyone to give you their horse for an afternoon without paying them something for it, and you won't get any money to pay for anything without working."

"But I only have so much time…" I tried to explain.

Rebecca quieted me. "I understand, you want to find your friend, but there are some things you really must deal with first." She smiled. "I understand you don't think you need the money, and maybe your right, maybe you are well off, but my family isn't as well off as some. If anything…maybe you'd find it in your heart to pay back my parents for their kindness?"

I sighed internally. How could I argue with that? I really couldn't. Snow White, if she were here with me, would be the first to tell me that the right thing to do was repay Rebecca and her family for all their generosity. She would say that she could wait until another opportunity presented itself. So until then…

"I will." I said. "Why, of course I will. All that I owe you and more if I can."

With that, my words sealed me to the role of bookkeeping.

The carpentry shop was a very busy place, ruled over by an elderly man, with a grey beard. The place smelled of pine and other freshly cut wood. Shavings of wood flew from workbenches, and the place was heavy with dust. Half a dozen younger men and boys were seated at various tables, cutting and sketching and sanding down almost completed items.

Rebecca bid me to wait outside, venturing into the midst of the workshop and tapping the shoulder of one of the young men, who I assumed was the older brother she had spoken of. I could not hear much above hammering and sawing, but he looked surprised to see his sister there.

With the dust tickling my throat I stepped away from the doorway. Within a moment Rebecca and Elias appeared. Elias looked me up and down, and I felt the need to stand a little taller, as though I was being evaluated on the spot. "Where did you come from?" He asked.

"The castle." I replied shortly. Now did not seem like a good time to bring up the whole 'out of a mirror' situation. That would come later.

"And you left because…?"

"I ran away."

"Ran away?"

"Yes."

"Were you a servant there?"

"Well, sort of." I responded.

"Have you ever done bookkeeping before?"

"No."

Elias turned to Rebecca. "Never done bookkeeping in her life." He seemed to almost snort out a laugh.

"Father said-"

"Father doesn't understand that I don't own this shop." Elias argued back. "We can't just bring someone in from the streets."

"But she's a lovely person."

"I'm sure she is, but that's not a good enough reason to give her work here." He looked over to me. "Not that we wouldn't if we knew a bit more about you…?" He asked for my name.

"Mirror." I admitted, a bit quietly.

He looked at Rebecca again, this time with disbelief in his eyes. "I don't know what sort of joke you think you're pulling, but it isn't funny, Rebecca."

"I'm not trying to trick you, you can ask father later today if you need anymore proof." Rebecca said. "But she needs help, and we've taken her in. Give her a chance, at least. Surely you remember all that father said about being a good person, and doing the right thing?"

He sighed, gave one last look over me, and sighed again. "Fine." He seemed to grouse. "I'll talk with the Master right now."

She smiled as Elias disappeared into the back of the shop again. "Works every time." She smirked. "Just bring up something father said about doing right in life and he'll walk in a straight line and do as you ask."

"Is that not like manipulating someone?" I asked.

"We're siblings, such things are allowed from time to time." Rebecca shrugged.

Elias returned, this time with the carpentry master, who looked me over in much the same fashion, if a bit more open-minded. He paused looking at my face. "I don't see why not…she looks to have wise eyes." He nodded. "You can read and write?"

"Quite well."

"Perfect." He concluded. "Can't say the pay will be anything exceptional, but at least Elias won't have to tire himself out over the papers now."

Rebecca then saw fit to leave me, as the Master showed me a sectioned off corner in the front of the shop, in which the finished products sat, looking brilliant. I was placed at the desk, where he placed the largest box I had ever seen, over stuffed with papers.

"The records have been…sporadic at best." He said, patting my shoulder a little gruffly. "See what you can do."

"Alright…" I said, perhaps a little weakly, as I eyed the enourmous task.

"There's a few more boxes when you finish that one." The Master called back as he re-entered his workshop.

I groaned. This would take me hours, and it looked to be just the start of correcting months of someone else's procrastination. I was almost afraid to see what the next box would look like. Left to my own devices and expected perform magic that seemed beyond me (and I was a magic mirror, so that's truly saying something), I sat down and pulled the first wad of papers sitting at the top of the box.

Hours went by as I made slow progress, trying to sort everything out. By the end of a very long morning, I had made my way through a dozen wads of folded paper with orders and numbers scribbled casually around them, and two full journals. My head was full of words and numbers, and there was dull but persistent ache at my temples that was becoming unbearable.

"Oh Snow White," I sighed to myself as I slumped back in the chair. "If you were here you could hear me cursing the names of all those children who are responsible for me learning letters and numbers."

There was a knock at the partition that sectioned off the desk, and I turned my head, probably looking like I had fallen asleep with my eyes open.

It was the Master, whose short words were "Getting along with the books?"

"As well as can be expected."

"We did let them fall behind, admittedly." The Master nodded. "Keep it up then."

He left and I heaved another sigh. I would never find time to search for Snow White at this rate…not today or for many days to come. Time was so precious, yet so fleeting…

There was a second knock at the partition, and Elias poked his head in. "Any progress?" He asked.

I waved my hand over the work I had done, too tired to speak.

"Good." He nodded, with a small smile. "It's nice to see I haven't placed my faith in the wrong person." He said. "Honestly, I didn't know what to think of Rebecca dragging you in here. All I could do was pray that it would all work out."

I simply nodded along, too tired to be annoyed that he hadn't trusted me to be hardworking.

"Well, I'm off now." Elias said. "Someone has go out and check on our supplies."

"Supplies?" I asked, wearily.

"Yes, someone has to go and see that the foresters are going to fill out their orders, so we can fill out ours."

The forest…and a very devilish idea occurred to me. I could go. It would be a great excuse to leave here and do a bit more searching. If I was quick with the work then no one would suspect. If I returned a little late, I could just say I got lost, being new in town.

But Snow White would be mortified to hear of my trickery…

But I had to find her…

But I had to work…

But the Queen had to know I was gone by now, and time was very important.

Just as Elias was about to leave out the door I shot up from the desk. "Wait!" I stopped him. "I could go. I don't mind leaving. It's more of a bookkeeping thing anyway, that way I can write the numbers down directly."

"Are you sure?"

"I wouldn't mind at all."

He paused, and I felt he could see plain through me, and knew I was deceiving him in some way. "I suppose you could use a change of scenery." He said. "Go on then."

"Oh, thank you." I sighed.

"That anxious to leave?" He seemed amused by me.

"Oh, very." I replied honestly. "The numbers are beginning to make my head ache."

This seemed to be a valid excuse, because he stood back so I may exit the shop. "You can take the mare." He said.

"The mare?" I asked. "You mean you have a horse?"

"The Master does, he let's us ride her when we need too." He pointed to a building close by. "She's in there, just be careful, she known to throw some fits if you're harsh on her, and she startles easily."

There was a horse in the small building as promised, thankfully saddled already, for I had no idea how to put anything on the creature, and had a very basic knowledge of riding, most of which came as stories from Snow White of her childhood.

I was off, and I felt both free and guilty. "No one will know…" I repeated to myself in a whisper. "No one will know."

The mare was tame, if one used a gentle hand, and knew the road well. I did not have to guide her at all down the forest path. I glanced at the cottages as we passed by, knowing we were getting closer to the last one. We pasted the tiny home, and true enough, the road ended soon after. The mare fidgeted, and I gave her a little nudge with my knee. "C'mon now." I whispered to her. "It's just grass, and you've surely walked on that before."

She did continue her walk, if a bit cautious.

To avoid getting lost, I let her only wonder in straight line. It wasn't the best way to find Snow White but until I could bring string or something with me to tie around a few trees, well it would have to do.

I pasted meadows, ponds, a few babbling brooks and countless trees of different shape and color. But there was no sign of another cottage. "The witches the old woman spoke of must be hiding…" I mused.

The mare fidgeted again, and I glanced around us. A snake on the ground perhaps? There was no serpent, but in the distance something stirred. A thin trail of smoke. A witch's cottage? A gypsy camp? Snow White? It could be anything or anyone. I gave the mare another nudge forward. The only way to find out would be to see where it was coming from.

It took longer than expected to reach the destination, as shallow river, nestled in a few hills was placed between us, one that the mare did not want to cross at all, and required much encouragement to do so. By the time we were close to where I suspected the smoke was rising from, whatever fire had produced it was dying.

The mare was quite unhappy by this time, far off from her comfy stable, and with wet legs. "Easy…easy." I hushed her. I slid off her back and took a closer look at the dying embers. "Odd…surely someone was here a moment ago."

A thin and brittle twig snapped somewhere to my right and I gazed up in that direction. "Hello?" I asked. "Snow White?" I dared to ask. "Is that you?"

There was not an immediate answer. "It's me, Mirror." I went on, gently. "You don't have to be afraid, you can come out."

There was a rustle in the thicket, and then _something_ moved and bolted away. It was an impossible creature, with a great hump on it's back and fur of every color and kind. Multitudes of browns and greys, with black and white, even streaks of bright red, like a fox. It's departure was echoed by the calls of crows, which it startled from under the bushes.

I froze up, and the mare started to stamp about in a frightened way, her eyes rolling back in her head. I practically leapt over her back, managing to place my foot in a stirrup and clamber back on. There was no controlling her after that, and she ran around in circles for some time before finding her bearings and racing right back to the carpentry shop, not stopping until she was back in her stable.

"What was that?" I asked. "I've never heard of any creature that looked like that before."

"Where have you been?"

I glanced up to see Elias who looked as angry as a hornet shaken around in a jar. "What?" I questioned.

"You've been gone _for hours_." He snapped at me. "What took you so long?"

I suddenly remembered that I had not stopped on my return at all to see if the lumber would be arriving on time. "Oh! I'm so sorry." I apologized outright. "I meant to stop on my way back, but the mare was frightened and wouldn't stop running…I wasn't thinking of stopping her either, you should have seen-"

"You didn't even do what you were supposed to?!" I swore I saw a bit of steam coming out of his ears.

"I forgot." I apologized again. "You see I'm missing a friend, and I needed a horse to explore farther into the forest." I tried to explain my case.

He sighed, aggravated. "I should have known…I should have known to not trust Rebecca so quickly…"

"I'm sorry, I'll apologize to everyone." I said. "I owe them that."

"You'll have to do it tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Because they've all gone home!" Elias snapped. "It's nearly evening."

"Why are you still here then?"

He frowned. "I had to finish up the bookkeeping."

"Well, I could at least take the saddle off the mare."

"Just go." Elias dismissed me.

I wished more than ever that I had found Snow White that day. I needed my friend back .

 **Slowly getting into the 'Catskin' plot more.**


	9. Chapter 9

Not a very shining moment in my life. When I arrived back at the home of Hans, Caroline and their children, I was met with worried faces. They had thought something happened to me, and I was quite late for dinner. I explained what I had done, poured out a stream of apologies that Elias had been unwilling to hear, ate the food that had been set aside for me, and quickly retired to bed after Hans said "She'll do better tomorrow" to his family and then turned and said, with a slight warning in his tone "Right, Mirror?"

I agreed. That night I relived my awful mistake in my dreams over and over again. I never found Snow White in any of them. I would always wake with a start. By the middle of the night I thought I'd never fall to sleep again, and vowed that I'd make up for my behaviour. Snow White would have wanted me too.

The only trouble was this would mean I would have to postpone my search for her…and who knew what the Queen was planning now.

/

 _A few days ago…_

The morning began quite normally, with the usual time spent on dressing and primping, and the ladies-in-waiting coming in when called, arranging themselves on their respective stools, like flowers placing themselves in vases. Oswald stood at the door, shaking as always. He should have never shown Prince Adalric the mirror. Now whenever the Queen visited the looking glass he feared that the mirror may let it slip that the interaction had occurred. Even worse…that his name should be mentioned. The Queen treated quite a few people poorly, but spies for the neighbouring kingdoms? He was as good as dead.

If he could have he would have smashed the mirror to shards after the prince was finished with it, but the Queen needed it for her own purposes…and if she figured out it was him who destroyed it…he was also as good as dead.

He should have never brought up the magic mirror to begin with, he scolded himself internally. He had brought all this worry on himself. He should have stayed out of all this, he was only a footman after all.

The Queen finished with her morning regime, rose, signaling for the ladies-in-waiting to do so after her, and began walking for the door with a sense of purpose. Oswald swallowed, forced his tremors to subside briefly and opened the door for them. She floated past in jeweled toned fabric, green today, and with a freshly powdered face, looking like a polished emerald.

The walk was silent, just the crisp taps of shoes on the floor. By now the ritual performed in front of the mirror was as much part of a morning routine as brushing hair.

Down the halls they walked, a small parade led by a queen, flanked by her attendants. The Queen was oddly calm. Oswald wondered if that should worry him more, he had expected her to be more than a little upset with the mirror's reply yesterday. Snow White…alive. He had heard it whispered by the kitchen staff, who had heard it spoken of quietly in empty (supposedly empty) corridors by the ladies-in-waiting who had heard her grousing about all that evening. No one in the castle had slept easy that night, half expecting her to leave her bedchamber in a angry outburst, calling forth huntsmen and horses and hounds…all for the sake of finding a young girl with more beauty than her.

But regardless of the unease in everyone else, the Queen was serene, poised, alert. She was starting to remind Oswald of cat, which had not yet decided if it wanted to catch a mouse or not.

The door to the chamber where the mirror was kept was ahead, and Oswald quickened his pace, standing himself at the door again and opening it for the collective party. He choose to stand outdoors, retaining his hold on the door handle. He didn't quite fancy being in the same room as the Queen. He would stand outside the chamber, and pretend that he had continued to hold the door for their exit. He was close enough to hear whether the mirror betrayed his activities during the night of the ball or not.

"Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, reveal yourself to us all." The Queen demanded, and Oswald felt every hair on the back of his neck stand up in dreadful anticipation.

There was nothing but silence for a few seconds. "Mirror Mirror, on the wall, I said reveal yourself to us all."

What?

Oswald's curiosity betrayed himself and he dared to stand a little more in the doorway so he may look into the chamber and see what was happening. Never had the phrase to reveal the mirror been repeated, at least during his time at the palace.

The mirror had cleared, as it always did, revealing the tiny room within with it's dove gray hanging and the cushions arranged in their usual daybed in the corner. But the lady within was not appearing.

And that was certainly the most vital part of the mirror.

"Where is she?" The Queen asked, a tone of shock caught in her voice. "She has to be in there!"

"Perhaps she is hiding behind the draperies?" One lady-in-waiting bravely ventured to suggest.

"How can she be hiding behind the drapes, there is nothing behind them, no wall or door or anything!"

"Well we don't really know for sure…" Another lady-in-waiting whispered to the other attendant beside her.

"Enough!" The Queen snapped, and the women behind her fell silent, and Oswald stepped quickly back out of the doorway.

"She must be there." The Queen sounded as though she was almost pleading now for the lady in the mirror to step forward. "She has to be, it's a mirror there's no place for her to go." She stepped forward, grabbing hold of the golden frame the looking glass was in. "Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, this is your last chance… reveal yourself to us all." They all waited with their breath held.

But no lady appeared.

"No." The Queen said softly. "I don't understand, how could this happen? It's a magic mirror it's not meant to stop working. No, no, no."

Oswald could feel a building of tremors he knew would last for weeks.

/

"I am an awful, _awful_ human being." I sighed into my pillow. "If only I had stayed a mirror." Shade ran his little sandpaper tongue over my hand. Jonah's kitten was the only sentient being in the house right now that I was sure still liked me. "What do you think, Shade?" I asked. The creature continued to lick at my hand. "Perhaps it's just as well." I muttered. "It's better to be a human being and be no good at it than to be a mirror and never really live."

There was a knock at the door, and Rebecca poked her head in. "Mirror?" She asked. "Are you alright?"

"I'm awful, I feel simply awful." I replied. "Rebecca I swear, I just wanted to find my friend, and someone was giving me a horse to use, and…I knew it was wrong too, and that's what makes me an awful human being." I sighed. "Will your mother ever forgive me?"

"Oh she will, she will." Rebecca promised me. "Father hasn't given up on you yet, and that's the important thing."

"Tomorrow will go better, I swear."

"Oh, I don't doubt it, the way you've poured your emotions into the pillow we gave you."

"Tears are so strange…they sort of sting, don't they?"

Rebecca nodded. "Enough worrying about it, it's been done." She came over and patted my shoulder soothingly. "Now get yourself into a night dress and go to bed, you'll be needing the rest."

"Your brother hates me." I went on as I dashed behind the changing curtain that had been hung in the corner of the attic for me. "I don't think he'll trust me ever again."

"Don't let Elias scare you." Rebecca shook her head. "His first day in the shop went just as bad…if not worse."

My head popped out from behind the curtain. "Worse?" I asked, surprised. "Worse how?"

Rebecca smirked. "Imagine him making a full set of chairs for a dining table and then not one of them being able to support the weight of a mouse, let alone a person." She grinned. "A full day's work, and nothing to prove for it. At least you did a bit of bookkeeping. Does that make you feel any better?"

"Well…perhaps a little." I smiled. "It will make facing him a little easier." I plopped down on the cot in the attic that had become mine. "Mattresses are lovely. You can just flop yourself down onto them and it's the most comfortable thing in the world."

Rebecca sighed. "I wish I liked the little things in life as much as you do."

"It's easy when all of them are new and exciting." I closed my eyes and Rebecca threw the bedcovers over me. Shade curled up at my feet.

"Tomorrow I start repaying your family for all your kindness…properly."

/

 _Three weeks later_

Repaying Rebecca's family and finding another opportunity to search for Snow White was a longer task than what I expected. Three weeks of bookkeeping yielded enough money to give ample payment for room and board. The bit they left for me to have as my own was saved in a box under my mattress until I would have enough to pay a ploughman for use of a horse for a day.

In truth, I didn't mind surrendering most of the money. The effect of some extra income in Rebecca's household was noticeable, and yielded positive results. The bit of extra food required to feed me daily was easily acquired, and fabric for my own dresses. Caroline managed to pinch enough together to bake something nice every week, and Hans used a good portion to make some repairs to the mill.

Snow White would have been so proud. I used thoughts like that to fuel me through the less than exciting work of bookkeeping. Every time the number became too much, or my eyelids turned heavy out of boredom I thought of how happy Emelia, Michal and Jonah were when they came home to see Caroline had been baking all day while they were at school, and how happy that would make Snow White if she were also here.

As long as I kept reminding myself of that it was easier to ignored how I had let almost a month of my short time to find Snow White slip away. I counted my savings every night and went over the math to see how much longer it would be before a chance to go looking for her would arise.

There were times I thought the day would never come around, but finally, after the three weeks had passed with no small amount of effort, the arrangements were made, and a ploughman with a horse was paid.

And I would not be going alone. Rebecca had agreed to come with me, and Hans had given her permission to be away from the mill for a day.

"And remember she has-"

"Black hair and pale skin, about this tall (she held her hand to show me this)…very beautiful…red lips. Am I missing anything important?"

"No, that should cover it all." I nodded. "You know how to ride a horse, yes? Because the last time I went riding it was a miracle I made it home at all. The horse startled…some strange beast."

"Strange beast? Like what?"

"I don't know, it had fur of every color."

If this information bothered Rebecca she said nothing, and didn't dare ask anymore questions.

We departed early in the morning, when most people were making their way to work. Elias walked passed and Rebecca waved to him in a friendly manner. I avoided making eye contact with him. The last few weeks had been quiet between us. Whenever I looked at him I felt the same embarrassment and guilt I had felt when I returned late with the mare, both of us exhausted, and nothing accomplished. It was enough to make me press my face back in the books for a good hour or two.

"Both of you now?" Elias saw the horse that Rebecca was leading by the reins.

Rebecca nodded. "She has a friend she needs to find…and should have probably found three weeks ago."

"If everyone had only been so lucky." Elias joked.

Rebecca did not take kindly to the remark. "Elias!" She snapped. "That remark was in poor taste."

Elias, every serious, sighed, apologized, and continued on his way lest we delay him too much. "Good luck." He wished us both. He added, just before disappearing, "Do make sure to come back before dark."

Rebecca groaned. "Of all times for him to make jokes…of course he chooses now, it's just like him."

"Do you not get along well with him?" I asked as we continued along.

"As well as any brother and sister do." Rebecca said. "We all love him dearly, really, but it's hard to not grow frustrated with each other sometimes."

"Why does he not live with you?"

"Oh, he didn't get tossed out of the house or anything." Rebecca shook her head. "Elias left on his own. He went to father one day and said he didn't want to be a miller like him. Wouldn't be able to stand it, not even for a day in his life."

"Oh no." I interrupted her. "It must have hurt your father's feelings to hear that."

"It probably did a little, but we all suspected Elias wouldn't want to replace father at the mill. Father went off the very next day to see about fitting him into an apprenticeship in another trade. That's when he started carpentry and the like. He had to work off all his debt for being trained, but he did it. Elias just wanted to do better in life than what milling would get him I think."

Which I felt meant, somewhere between the lines, that Elias didn't want to continue living a life where income was more troubling than it should be.

"He rents a little set of rooms above one of the shops now." Rebecca laughed. "It's probably like living in a matchbox, the rooms are so tiny, but it's a roof over his head."

I found myself laughing too, though I had no idea why. Hearing other people laugh often caused laughter on my own part now that I was human.

We reached the path into the forest, mounted the horse and started along. We passed the normal cabins and foresters, and before long Rebecca was leading us all deeper into the woods. "Do you expect to find her hiding in some cave?" Rebecca asked. "Maybe captured by that beast you were speaking of earlier?"

"Oh no…at least I don't think so." I said. "From what I could tell, she was sleeping in a bed, which means she must be in some sort of house somewhere."

"How did you two get separated?"

I wondered if I should lie outright, but decided to reply as honestly as I could, without revealing too much. "There was a women who…wanted her to leave, and so she ran away when she got the chance. And then when I learned she was still in trouble I ran away too. I was hoping I could find her quickly and then we'd be able to…I don't know, run even farther away I suppose." I frowned. "At least find a safer kingdom."

"So…I suppose you're not a mirror after all?" Rebecca asked.

"No, wait…it's not quite like that…" I tried to find the words.

"So you haven't figured out your true name."

"Strictly speaking I don't think I've had one of those ever." I sighed. "But Mirror has always suited me fine."

"You're so odd." Rebecca smiled. "I think I'm starting to grow quite fond of you, Mirror."

"I should hope so." I smiled in return. "Otherwise eating dinner with your family, working with them, and living under same roof would be very awkward."

Rebecca laughed, and I felt the compulsion to tell her more of my unique story. Not of Snow White and her history, those were her own private tales, but things of just me.

"I'm very old you know." I said. "I was here before most villages stood, when there was only the castle, newly built."

"You mean when the first kingdom was split into the three kingdoms we have today?"

"Yes, about that old."

Rebecca snorted. "There's no possible way for you to be a thousand years old."

"Magic." I answered.

"There's no such thing."

"As a magic mirror I feel quite offended to hear you say that when I'm right behind you."

"Well maybe there once was…once upon a time."

"Once upon a time…what a nice phrase."

"That's how mother used to begin all our bedtime stories." She turned her head around to face me again, as we continued looking back and forth through the wood for a cottage or some other sign of a person living nearby. So far there was nothing, not a trail of smoke from a chimney nor even a trail marked with footprints. "So?"

"So…what?" I raised an eyebrow.

"What did you do in all that time?"

"Well, as someone who can answer any sort of question, I was used for a lot of things. War strategy, saying when heirs would be born, arranging good marriages, answering questions regarding lessons, beauty, alliances, criminal actions…my friend was the first person to ask questions that I really did feel like answering, things about far off places and how the world worked and that sort of thing."

"War strategy?" Rebecca was surprised.

"What?" I asked. "You don't think those old kings could have managed it all on their own do you? No, some were really quite hopeless. They needed the advantage only a magic mirror like myself could give." I snickered. "Otherwise the land we're riding over right now would have been blown to bits by hap hazard canon fire."

"It sounds like an adventure. So many people and so many things you had a hand in."

"I was trapped in a looking glass the entire time, you have to remember that. And I'd like to see you try to enjoy yourself when your regarded like just another piece of furniture." I sighed. "I didn't even have feelings Rebecca…maybe some, but so minimal, terribly stunted…nothing like I have now. Happiness, sadness, hunger, sleepiness, contentment…such an array."

"I hope you're enjoying life with all it's quirks, Mirror."

"I am." I winked at her, a neat little trick Michal and Jonah had thought worthwhile to teach me. "But really Rebecca, there's no such thing as magic, so the whole mirror story must be a tall tale, right?" I said jokingly.

"I suppose until we have another story for you it will have to suffice." She heaved a heavy sigh, but I could tell there was a joking tone in her own voice.

Suddenly there was the snap of a twig, and Rebecca stopped the horse, who's ears were flicking about now. "Did you hear that?" She asked. "It may have been only a rabbit or something but…"

"Hello?!| I shouted for Snow White. "Is anyone there?! Hello!"

Nothing…again. Where on earth was that princess hiding?

"I suppose it was just a rabbit after all." Rebecca said. Yet there was another snap of underbrush, and the sound of what seemed to be branches being pushed out of the way.

"Hello?" We both called out then.

"You can come out, this is Rebecca, a good friend of mine." I called, thinking I would soon see raven hair and a familiar face.

But a face of a very different kind rose from behind a young tree.

Behind it was a great brown and black hump, shaggy with wooly fur like a bison's in some patches, and smooth and black like a bears in others. The pelt patched off further into silvery coat colors like a wolf's and then more brown, in strange shapes, some no more than dots, like mouse fur, and other's lighter and softer to touch, like a rabbits. At one joint on the creature's hip I could have sworn I saw a squirrel tail. And then the face was framed with smoother hair like an otter's, patches of thicker fur like a donkey's and strands of horsehair. A patch of bright red hair, like a foxes backside, hung upon what looked like a massive brow.

We made eye contact for the briefest time, this calico-coated animal and I, as it stood up.

I gasped. Rebecca screamed.

And then it ran right past us, before diving into the mess of trees and disappearing. My eyes shot back to where it had stood, and I beheld a dark figure, holding a crossbow. The figure was dressed in plain colors, but the fabric was fine, and the form familiar.

I gasped again, before slapping the horses backside and stealing the reins from Rebecca's grasp. The horse sped away, with Rebecca scolding me for taking the reins from her. "What did you do that for?! Are you trying to get us thrown from the horse?"

"There was a huntsman."

"Well, it is the forest Mirror." She huffed. "He may have seen a cottage. He may have known something about your friend."

I shook my head, silent and scared for three reasons.

I hadn't found Snow White, and it had now been over three weeks.

The creature had human eyes.

And Wilhelm had been the huntsman.

 **Yet another update...after forever. I tried my best when it comes to the Catskin fur coat but there are simply too many variations, the most prominent of which is that it's made from some of the fur from every animal in the country. In some it's the whole skin of something most people wouldn't want a coat made of (like pig skin or donkey fur). The point is...it's not meant to be a very flattering coat, and make the wearer look like an animal at first glance.**


	10. Chapter 10

And so the truth came out that night, with me pacing back and forth, worried over everything. Rebecca didn't believe me the first time, or the second. But I was in earnest and by then I was on my knees, desperately trying to get my story across to her.

But trying to get Rebecca to understand what happened to me before she found me in her father's mill was the least of my troubles…

/

"And then you found me sleeping in the mill." I finished. "Do you understand now?"

Rebecca nodded.

"Really?" I asked.

"No." She added, to which I sighed heavily.

"Alright…" I got on my knees before her. "There was the Queen, who isn't at all the sort of person you want ruling over a kingdom, and then there was Snow White and Wil…oh, right, I forgot about myself…a thousand years ago I was made by a wizard, he was very wise and powerful and he just conjured me into existence. I never asked as to the details. Then I was given to the first king and queen of this kingdom as a sort of gift." I was using my hands to gesticulate the wh0le story. "Now you can jump forward a good thousand years, and I'm now, or rather I was, in the possession of the current Queen. Snow White found me, we became friends, the Queen was always jealous of her for being so beautiful…is this making any sense?"

"I'm following it so far."

"Good. There a ball, Snow White wanted to go and so she did, everyone saw she was lovely, she became the fairest in the land, and this did not sit well with the Queen because she was always asking if she held that particular title, and when she had that taken from her she just went mad with jealousy. She tried to have my friend killed. She ordered her son, Wilhelm to do it, but he didn't. He killed a boar instead, and he fooled her into thinking that…" Rebecca made of face showing great disgust at the mention of a pig heart in a casket. "Never mind that detail." I dismissed it. "But she swore her revenge, and my friend had escaped , and I cried and then there was this little man that freed me out of the glass."

"And then you ran away…"

"Yes! Yes, yes Rebecca I did exactly that, right to your father's mill, where I sought out some shelter for the night."

"And then I found you." Rebecca said. "And a month later here we are, and it looks like this huntsman is now looking for your friend."

"Oh, I hope not." I frowned. Though I was beginning to suspect such was true.

"It's possible that he wasn't you know." Rebecca tried to soothe me.

"But the Queen must have noticed I'm gone by now, and it's been a month…whatever emotional crash she had afterwards must be over."

"But there was that strange beast."

"Yes…" I said. "Yes, he could have been hunting down that beast…" I paused. "That's the second time I've spotted that creature…I dare say it's begun to follow me…have you ever seen an animal like that before?"

"Never, I think that's why the huntsman was after it."

"It's eyes…" I mused. "They were oddly human."

"And everything else on it was something different." The mother cat in the house, a calico colored beauty, stalked by us. "Like a calico colored creature." Rebecca finished.

"A calico cat…a catskin creature."

"So what now?" Rebecca asked. "What will happen to you and your friend?"

"I don't know Rebecca, but I must act soon…we are running out of time."

/

"She's gone…she's gone…how is she still gone?!" The Queen sent a deadly glare in his direction.

"Well, after the week you spent lamenting over the matter, she could have gone any number of places." Wilhelm tried to keep from being too condescending on his mother. Sometimes he thought himself the parent out of the two of them. His mother had retained a very childish streak of jealousy and refused to let go of her ideas of beauty and youth. It made her unrational and too easily controlled by her feelings. A woman of her age and position should know how to reign in her emotions and handle her priorities with devotion.

Regardless, his hopes for his mother improving were dashed again by a displeased pout she displayed. He didn't twitch at all in response, having seen the look so many times it had long ago lost it's effect. She huffed, and then crossed her arms, shifting to a worried look. "Really, Wilhelm, it's as if the state your mother's in has no effect on you."

"To be frank, Mother, it doesn't."

"Oh!" She sounded hurt. "Not even my own child cares!" She smiled at him, just a little. "I remember when you'd run to side whenever I was upset, and smooth my hair, hold my hand…where has that dear boy gone…?"

"He grew up, and he realised that this kingdom needed a Queen."

"No one cares about awful an effect this will have…" She went on.

"We don't need the mirror Mother."

"Yes we do!"

"For what? To be told you're beautiful every day?"

"It's important." She said it with such a serious expression he could almost laugh at her. As it was he let a smirk pass on his face. She stiffened. "And for several other things besides."

"Such as…?" He prompted.

"You've heard how helpful it was when this kingdom was at war."

"Ah, but we're not at war now, are we?" He gave her a hard look. "And I don't plan on letting you start one to prove a point either."

"It was also remarkable for working out debt."

"That one I may believe, what with some of the lavish spending I've seen you doing…but despite not being much a prince I have looked over the books, and by some miracle this kingdom is not facing any of those troubles."

"I need that mirror back!"

"You've gone mad."

"Where have we looked?"

"Really, Mother, I wish you would give up on this…"

"Where have we looked?!"

He sighed. "Every chamber in this castle, every hall, every passage."

"Do you think she may have left the grounds?"

"It's possible. She may not know her way around the halls but it's possible."

Her face stiffened and she gave an order. "Have every horseman assemble. Search the forest. Go into the village if they must. I want that mirror found."

/

"She's gone!" Rebecca burst into the shop.

"Who?" Elias looked up from a half made table.

"Mirror!" Rebecca cried out.

"She can't be gone." Elias said. "She said she was ill. She went home to rest. The Master's youngest son took her home himself."

"I know, I was the one to put her to bed to rest." Rebecca fretted. "Then I went to the mill for a few hours, and when I returned Mother said she had been gone the whole day. She must have slipped out after I left and before Mother returned from the market." She looked at him, worried. "I think she may have gotten use of a horse and gone looking for her friend again, by herself."

"Why should we be worried? That was her goal all along wasn't it?"

"But there are huntsman and Catskin…."

"Catskin?"

"A strange beast with a many-colored coat. It reminded us of a calico cat so we've been calling it Catskin. I've seen it only once, but Mirror has claimed to have come across it before." She then gave him a rather pleading look.

"What on earth is that gaze for?"

Rebecca huffed. "You're going to go looking for her, right?"

"What? Me? Why?"

"Because you could borrow the master's mare, and I can't."

"Rebecca, I'm sure she's fine…I trust she's intelligent enough to stay away from strangers and wild animals."

"Please. Elias, she's running out of time?"

"Time for what?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

A heavy sigh passed from Rebecca. "If she doesn't find this friend of hers, she'll miss her chance, because she traded the memories of-"

"Please tell me this obvious child's-story doesn't end with Mirror being a real…"

"A magic mirror." Rebecca clarified.

"Rebecca you're too old and sensible to believe in that sort of thing."

"Believe me, I had a very hard time trying to believe it…but I think it actually makes sense…she's so…intrigued by everything, as though she's never seen it before, and she's so desperate to find this girl, as if she were the only friend she ever had."

"And somehow that all adds up to being a magic mirror?"

"If you go looking for her now, and find her, she will tell you everything herself."

He frowned in response, eyeing over the table in need of building.

"Go now." Rebecca said more sternly. "Or I will tell Father you let that poor girl risk breaking a leg, or being mauled by Catskin."

Begrudgingly, he listened.

/

This was it. No more gentle trotting. No more calling out for her as though someone was listening in. No more glancing back and forth between meadows. Today I would find Snow White, even if it meant searching all night long.

Which I certainly hope it didn't. This new part of the forest had a very thick canopy and the shadowy landscape was sending unpleasant shivers up my spine, though it was not cold.

The horse was running at a brisk speed and I scanned everywhere for signs of a household.

"Snow White!" I screamed. Why had I called so quietly before? I no longer cared if a huntsman could hear me, whether he was Wilhelm or not.

It went on like that for hours. I made the horse go on running until the poor thing was breathing heavily with foam emerging on it's lips. By then I was desperate, loud, and emotionally exhausted with the month I had spent looking for my friend without success. "Snow…Snow…" I hiccupped, eyes watery. "Snow…" I tried to call for her again. "Oh Snow White…why do you have to be so difficult to find…I may never find you at this rate…"

"Tears don't become such a lovely young woman." Someone said. "Why are you weeping again?"

The horse and I were both startled by the sudden appearance of the little man with pointed features, who seemed to have popped right out of the tree stump he was seated on. "Where did you come from?" I asked. "Why are you here?"

"You're weeping again, and very genuine tears." The little man said. "What is troubling you this time? I thought you would be skipping through the hills right now, being free of your glass."

"Well I would be right now if I had been able to find Snow White when you set me free."

"So that is what you want?" He raised an eyebrow and seemed to ponder. "You wish to find your friend? A push in the right direction perhaps?"

"I wouldn't mind that." I said. "In fact I would be very grateful." I rethought over the words. "You know where she is?" I asked, suddenly hurt that this information was withheld from me.

"I can figure it out." The man waved his hand casually. "The way can be easily found."

"So you do not know…?"

"Not at the moment, but snap my fingers, and you'll be on your way to your beloved friend."

"Then yes." I nodded vigorously. "Show me the way."

"Of course, I never work just for nothing…"

"I had money, but I used it all for the horse." I tried to argue. "And I can't give you the animal, it's not mine, I've only use of it for the day." I thought. "I could save more money to pay you, I do bookkeeping in the village now."

"I've no use for your currency."

"I have nothing else of value, you'll have to accept it."

"Perhaps I could take some of your…"

"No more memories." I was firm. "You will already take those of me from Snow White but I refuse to let you take the memories of her from me."

"Very well then, no more memories."

"What is your fascination with them anyhow?"

"Powerful thing, memory…makes for good fuel, like a dry log for a fire."

I imagined my memories being burned in a tiny hearth, while the little man warmed his feet in front of them.

"And so that leaves us with…" He pondered. "You have acquired nothing? No keepsakes? Nothing with any great sentimental value?"

"No the family I am boarding with is not very…" I searched for polite words. "They are of more humble means than some."

"I could solve that as well."

"With magic?"

"Naturally."

I thought this over, but knew it would not solve everything, and would likely alter the memories of Rebecca and her family, which I did not take kindly to. "We're at odds to find payment for one miracle, let alone two."

"You're right." The little man remained casual. "No memories, no sentimental objects…that leaves time?"

"Time?"

"Why of course, have you never heard the phrase that 'time is money'?"

It had passed my ears in the last few weeks. But I remained cautious. "You're going to take away…part of my life?"

The little man burst into laughter. "Heavens, no!" He wiped a tear from his eye that had fallen in his snickering. "Just a portion of the time I gave you with your friend."

I gasped. "How…how much of that time do you want?"

"I require…a month. Yes, a month should do."

"A month!" I cried out. "But that's half of what I have left!"

"But, you will find your friend within this hour."

"This hour?" I said. "And I'll be able to find my way back home, if I want too, and the way back to her again?"

"You wish to return to the village?"

"There are some people I wish to say goodbye too." I looked at him. "Is that alright?"

"It's your time, do with it what you want."

With that, my decision was made. "If you swear to show me the way, and within this hour I do find Snow White, then yes, you can take back the time you gave me before."

"Agreed." The little man nodded. "Now, let the horse have a rest, and use your own legs for a bit."

Then they were gone. I blinked an horse and man both vanished and I was standing alone. "What do I do now?" I shouted. A twig snapped, and my head jerked in the direction of the sound. There was another, louder snap, less conspicuous than the first. The shadowy surroundings made my worries all the more stronger. My heart fluttered in my chest.

My feet flew.

Up until that moment I hadn't minded the forest. But now it seemed darker, and grimmer, and everywhere I looked I could swear I was seeing shadow figures, and faces in the trees, and other fearsome creatures.

I mistook one tree root for a large, grey snake, and took a sharp turn. My pursuer followed me. I ran faster and the world around me blurred with my pace, only making the landscape seem more shadowy, more confusing. A stray branch whipped across my face as I past a tree. Where was the horse? Was the horse the creature following me now? I dared to look behind me, but the animal was no horse.

This made me quicken my pace even further. I thought I was seeing faces in the trees. I thought I was hearing voices in the air. Whisperings, and rather sinister ones. "Wait…please wait…stop."

I had no idea where I was going, what I was doing, who was following me, or if they wanted to hurt me, and then…

The ground, sudden and painful, collided with me and the side of my body that had sustained the fall cried out in protest. I flinched, curling up into as small as I could, and prepared for whatever fate was coming for me.

Something jumped on me, and I screamed. Somehow I had thought my imagination would fool me, and I would be saved by the exaggeration of my worries. But no. I had not imagined something chasing me. And it was too late now to keep running. I just shrieked hoping that there was a hunter or a wood cutter who could hear me.

It shook my shoulder and I continued to cry out, my screaming turning to sobs. I thought the animal was biting or clawing into my shoulder, and it took a few minutes for my frenzied mind to collect it's thoughts and realise I was not being harmed.

I opened one of my eyes, slowly, unsure. A pair of hands gloved in rabbit fur greeted my view. My gaze traveled upward. Badger fur, mink, otter, what looked to be the soft, smooth hide of a cow in certain patches.

The shoulders bore thick patches of what looked like moose, and then the face…was covered by a black handkerchief, save for a sliver where a pair of very blue, very human eyes were looking back at me.

"Catskin?" I asked.

There was no verbal response, but the creature held a finger to where it's mouth would be, and then grabbed my hand, and dragged me up from the ground.

"You're human under all that fur…aren't you?" I almost didn't know what to believe.

Catskin pointed ahead, and I saw something that I had been looking for over the last month. A cottage, tucked away behind the trees. "Snow White!" I gasped. I shot ahead, and threw myself at the door, and commenced pounding on it, so eagerly I felt it shaking on it's hinges.

"Snow White! Snow, are you in there?"

"Who's that?"

"Don't let it in. It's sounds crazy."

"Goodness, look at how the door is shaking."

"Should we move a table in front of the doorway?"

Men? But the little man said I would find-

"Mirror?"

Snow White.

I thought I truly did break the door down, but Snow White had only opened it as I threw myself against it again.

Reuniting with my friend was as blurry as my incredible running to get to the doorstep. Only much less frightening. I was overjoyed and Snow White was (understandably) quite surprised.

"Mirror!"

"Oh, Snow White, I can't believe it's you…you have no idea how long I've been looking for you, a month, a whole month!...and I had to learn to ride a horse, and I had to find a place to live, and I've learned so much…and I bookkeep now."

"You're here…what are you doing here?"

"To find you, obviously!" I laughed a little, embracing her. "Oh…" I noticed a smear of mud on the side of her dress, and saw that it had come from me. My fall a few minutes ago had left half of me quite dirty. "You said you'd tell me all about that party you sneaked off too." I sighed. "Goodness that seems like it was ages ago. The Queen was so jealous, deadly so, but you've probably figured that out on your own. I'm so sorry you had to go through this by yourself."

"Excuse me?" I heard and glanced down a one...three…six…seven little men. "Who are you?"

"My goodness, this forest is full of little men." I mused. "I'm Mirror."

"Mirror, what are you doing here?" Snow White repeated.

"Well I'm here to help you escape…" I tried to explain again.

"No not why …how?"

"What do you mean 'how'?

"Mirror, you're not in the mirror anymore." She gestured to my person.

It surprised me for a brief second, all over again, and for a moment I was as giddy as when I had been first thrust into the true world.

Snow White probably wanted an explanation, but I found myself laughing.

"She seems a bit breezy, this one." One of the short men whispered to another.

That had me laughing all over again.

 **Catskin is actually completely silent in most renditions of her story, at least while she wears the fur cloak. It's supposed to make her appear more animal like, and also correlates with themes of silencing people. In some versions of the story her cloak and other fur clothes cover so much of her body that those who find her can't tell if she's male or female, or even fully human (again, adding to the whole animal identity and disguise) which I quite like so I added that detail.**


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